Togo First
ICAT to supply farmers with over a million cocoa and coffee seedlings in the new season
Cocoa and coffee farmers will receive, in the coming agricultural campaign, 1,195,000 seedlings from the Technical Support and Council Institute (ICAT). These respectively break down into 635,000 coffee seedlings and 560,000 cocoa seedlings.
They were produced and picked by the ICAT to boost the country’s output, as performances in the previous campaign were mitigated.
This goal is also shared by the ministry of agriculture which wants to raise plantations’ yield by 10% every year. The ministry plans to develop 340 ha of new coffee plantations and 287 ha of cocoa plantations.
Regarding production, Togo’s coffee output dropped to 19,184 t last year from 21,316 t in 2019. Cocoa production on the contrary rose, from 12,674 t in 2018 to 14,264 t in 2019 and 15,690 t in 2020. The figures can be found in the annual report of the Central Bank of West African States (Banque Centrale des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest - BCEAO).
Government determined to make competition fairer in the telecom sector
A draft decree to identify the most relevant segments of Togo’s telecom sector was examined during the council of ministers held last Thursday.
The decree, which takes into account the sector’s needs and demands, also aims to find out who are the most “powerful” operators in the key segments identified.
The move, according to the government, aims to help optimize the regulation of the electronic communications sector (ed. Note: by the ARCEP, the regulatory body) and foster fair competition among operators.
Once the decree is adopted, the regulator will, every year, issue a report assessing the state of the digital communications market. This report will be examined by the council of ministers.
Klétus Situ
Cina Lawson inaugurates Operating Maintenance Center-Radio
Last Thursday, Cina Lawson, the Togolese Minister of digital economy and digitalization, inaugurated the Operating Maintenance Center-Radio, a facility tasked with monitoring, in real-time, the quality of mobile networks’ services in Togo.
Established by the ARCEP, the country’s telecoms regulator, the new center has cutting-edge technology directly connected to Moov and Togocel’s databases.
This should allow the regulator to have access to data related to the quality of services provided by the telecom operators. “These are data on technical performances,” said the regulator.
With this mechanism, says Michel Yaovi Galley, Director of ARCEP, “we don’t have to wait for the consumer’s complaint before taking action.”
For her part, Cina Lawson said it should help "provide the same quality of service to populations living in the interior part of the country, per the 2020-2025 governmental roadmap, and provide comfort to electronic communication users, as aimed by the 2025 Togo Digital strategy."
Forum Afrique 2021: Togo will showcase its agro-industrial sector
Next July 1st, a panel on agroindustrial transformation in Togo will be held during the Forum Afrique 2021. The information was disclosed by the event’s organizer, the Conseil français des investisseurs en Afrique (CIAN).
The panel will be hosted by Shegun Adjadi Bakari, the Presidential Advisor. He will showcase the efforts Togo made regarding agro-industrial transformation and also investment opportunities in this sector.
Besides the panel focused on Togo, many others will be held - all with a focus on Africa’s economic recovery after the Covid-19.
The opening speech of the forum will be given by Togo’s Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, and the closing speech by Côte d’Ivoire’s PM, Patrick Achi.
The forum, which will be held in Paris, will be broadcast on social networks. The chosen theme for the event is “Businesses in Africa: A new pact for recovery.”
The CIAN - the forum’s organizer - regroups French industrial and service firms. It supports Africa’s development through investments made in many sectors.
Esaïe Edoh
ARCEP gets new draft decree to better handle disputes
The council of ministers adopted last Wednesday a draft decree defining the ARCEP’s conflict resolution, sanctions, and conciliation processes. The ARCEP is Togo’s e-communication and posts regulator.
“This draft decree, which simultaneously aims to protect consumer rights and the interests of operators in the sector, aims to specify the rules for conciliation, the handling of disputes and the application of sanctions by ARCEP,” a statement from the council of ministers read.
Since it was established, the regulator has initiated many reforms, carried out sanctions, and issued heavy fines, all to bring order to the Togolese telecom sector.
Klétus Situ
Covid-19: World Bank approves additional financing of $20M for Togo
The World Bank announced last Thursday it approved additional financing of $20 million (about CFA11 billion) by the International Development Association (IDA) for Togo. The latter will use the funds to boost support to people who are most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the World Bank, the facility will be dedicated to the Social Nets and Services (FSB) project and it will specifically help “bolster the emergency aid that the Togolese government provided to populations to better face the COVID-19 consequences.”
Besides, these funds will enable the expansion of the government-led cash-transfer scheme for the most vulnerable and poorest people in the country.
Hawa Wague, Resident Representative of the World Bank in Togo, said: “By fostering the expansion of social security nets and cash transfers for those who need it most, while helping their businesses recover, this additional financing aligns with the government’s response against COVID-19, initiated via the Novissi program, and it will allow the country to put in place a social protection system which can tackle other shocks in the future.”
Let’s recall that recently, the World Bank approved financing of CFA16 billion to help Togolese authorities carry out Covid-19 vaccination campaigns across the country.
Esaïe Edoh
Exim Bank of India to inject $40M into electrification projects in Togo
Togo and Exim Bank of India signed on Wednesday, June 23, a financing agreement under which the former will provide the latter $40 million (about CFA22 billion) to supply power (PV solar) to 350 communities. The facility is the third credit line the Asian lender is giving the West African country, to boost electrification.
The money will serve to set up 2,000 solar irrigation systems and provide electricity to 500 schools. Moreover, 500 solar-powered water pumps and 12,000 solar light poles will be installed.
The convention was signed just a day after Blitta’s new solar plant was inaugurated. It (the agreement) “directly aligns with Togo’s electrification strategy, and also with the national development plan and the objectives of the 2025 government roadmap,” said Sani Yaya, minister of economy and finance.
For the government, the India-backed project will “help improve the living standards of rural populations who live in areas that are not covered by the traditional grid.”
Esaïe Edoh
PIA to buy teak wood from loggers
The Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA) authority is looking to buy teak wood from loggers operating across the country. The information was disclosed in a statement made available to Togo First.
Since it is now forbidden to export sawn timber in its raw and semi-raw forms in the Republic of Togo, the PIA is offering to purchase available teak wood stock from loggers, the statement reads. The document emphasizes that the wood acquired is to be delivered directly to the PIA.
“Only wood which meets the requirements set under the Togolese law will be bought,” the document stresses.
The wood purchased will serve as a supply for Togo Wood Industries, a company that recently signed a contract with the PIA.
The PIA, let’s recall, is Togo’s first integrated industrial zone. Inaugurated on June 6, 2021, the 400-ha platform will process raw materials, as well as manufacture and export finished goods.
Esaïe Edoh
TogoCom teams up with RightCom to bolster customer experience management
Togocom, a telecom operator and Togolese subsidiary of the Malagasy group Axian, has partnered with RightCom, a startup specialized in the development and provision of experience management software.
RightCom, which is present in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, and Ivory Coast, will help TogoCom automate its customer experience management and develop new tools to bolster this experience.
The startup, it should be noted, has been working with Free Senegal, also a subsidiary of Axian, since October 2020. RightCom develops customer management solutions for the telecom operator.
Regarding TogoCom, last March, its managing director Paulin Alazard announced that 70% of its customers reported improvements in service quality. A few months before, these customers had complained about quality issues related to the operator’s services.
Klétus Situ
FDI outflows from Togo was the highest in Africa last year
The highest outflows of FDI from Africa in 2020 were from Togo: $931 million (over CFA512 million).
The figure was disclosed in UNCTAD's recently released World Investment Report 2021.
Compared to 2019 where they stood at $43 million, outflows from Togo were up by 2,073%, with most of the investment directed to other African countries.
"For example, Afrik Assurances opened operations in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire in the financial services industry," reads the report.
Togo thus comes ahead of Ghana and Morocco from which FDI outflows stood respectively at $542 million (-8%) and $492 million (-45%).
Meanwhile, “outward investment from South Africa, traditionally a key investor, was negative (-$2.0 billion) as South African MNEs repatriated capital from foreign countries”, the authors of the report wrote. This is as across the continent, the figure fell to $1.6 billion, from $4.9 billion in 2019.
Klétus Situ