On November 12, 2020, Togo’s telecom regulator, ARCEP, warned the country’s two mobile operators, Togo Cellulaire (Togocel) and Atlantique Telecom Togo (Moov) over practices impeding competition. 

The two operators are accused of making on-net calls less expensive than off-net calls. The move, which could potentially discourage users of one network from calling those of the rivaling network, “violates the clauses of their specifications, and is seriously detrimental to fair and healthy competition in the sector.”

The companies were given 8 days since the warning was issued to regularise their situation. Otherwise, “a formal sanction procedure could be initiated against them.”

It is worth noting that the parent company of Moov-Togo lost half of its national call termination volumes in the first semester of this year. Called “interconnection tariff,” this termination is the fee charged to users from a network for a minute of communication with users from another network. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

A year after the adoption of the leasing bill and the creation of African Lease Togo, leasing operations in the country are still struggling to take off.

This, according to the Managing Director of African Lease Togo, Toussaint Sossou, is due to the lack of awareness about this banking product.

Toussaint Sossou, MD African Lease Togo

In the period concerned, the country’s potential for leasing was estimated at CFA116 billion, data from the National Transport Office shows.

Sossou further indicated, regarding the WAEMU, that “the market is ripe for investment, especially in the sectors of agriculture, infrastructure, medical equipment, and renewable energies.”

Séna Akoda

After canceling last Friday, an operation it planned to carry out on the regional financial market, Togo announced the launch of a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bonds. 

The operation which closes on November 27, 2020, breaks down into an issue of five-year bonds and another of seven-year bonds, both having a nominal value of CFA10,000. 

Respective interest rates of the bonds are 6.4% and 6.5%. According to the UMOA-securities agency, “the purpose of this issue is to mobilize the savings of natural and legal persons to cover the financing needs of the Togolese State budget.” 

Let’s recall that the country hopes to raise 60 billion CFA this quarter. Also, the ongoing operation is the second issue of the country this quarter. 

Séna Akoda

In 2021, Togo will invest CFA25.5 billion in the digital economy. This was decided at the Council of Ministers held last week and focused on the draft bill for next year’s budget. The latter should be assessed for adoption by deputies in a few weeks. 

The allocated funds will help the country advance its vision to make digital technology a lever to modernize the economy and society. Emphasis will be put on implementing the biometric ID project which is aimed at getting more Togolese business owners to formalize their activity and boost access to social services. 

By 2025, Togo’s public authorities plan to extend the coverage of landline and mobile internet networks, making the internet accessible to 95% of the population. 

Séna Akoda

The Togolese government will dedicate around CFA66 billion to the development of agriculture and agribusiness. The amount represents 8.4% of total funding allocated to ministries and institutions under the draft of finance law adopted last Thursday in a council of ministers. 

In effect, monies planned for agricultural development will help catalyze private investment in the sector and create conditions to secure private funds (land development and supply of improved fertilizers).  

Over the next five years, the government will launch multiple initiatives aimed at making agriculture a significant driver of economic growth and a source of jobs. These will involve the establishment of a national strategy for agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and greater use of fertilizers. 

There will also be steps to accelerate the development of the Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (MIFA) to support one million farmers, the expansion of Kara’s agri-hub in partnership with the private sector, and the expansion of cultivated areas to 165,000 ha. All these should boost the contribution of agriculture to job creation in Togo. 

Séna Akoda

Starting next year, the Togolese State intends to strongly rely on the private sector to accelerate the construction of school infrastructure - especially classrooms - needed in the country.

The decision, which will be reflected in public-private partnerships, was announced following the council of ministers held last Thursday. 

Already, informs the government, a fund of CFA195.5 billion should be allocated to the sector, under the 2021 budget. This represents 25.1% of the resources endowed to ministries and institutions for next year. 

Through its partnership with the private sector, the government hopes to provide more opportunities for (young) actors of the sector, especially those active in the construction sector. 

In addition to construction works, the allocated resources will serve to recruit and train educators, as well as to ensure that tertiary education better meets the needs of the labor market. 

As a reminder, the overall budget for 2021 is expected to reach 1,521.6 billion FCFA, down 7% compared to this year. After education, sectors that captured the greatest shares of the budget are health (10%), defense (10%), agriculture (8.4%), and access to clean water (8%). 

Ayi  Renaud Dossavi

The US embassy in Togo will provide $250,000 (nearly CFA140 million) to the Centre Afrika Obota-Togo (CAO Togo), in the framework of a decentralization project. 

The project aims at improving local governance and local participation to support decentralization. In effect, representatives of local populations will be trained to voice their expectations and contribute to local governance. 

CAO-Togo is a branch of the West African Centre Afrika Obota. Active since 1999, the entity is engaged in issues like human rights management, democracy, and gender equality. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In August this year, the World Bank announced the suspension of its Doing Business (DB) report due to irregularities in data compiled in past years. 

Last Tuesday however, Sandra Ablamba Johnson, minister and secretary-general at the presidency, said the ranking would be published “in a few weeks” adding that the suspension is “coming to its end.” This was during the presentation of the MCC 2021 scorecard for Togo. 

The audit, let it be recalled, covered the years 2017 and 2019 when Togo respectively lost two places and gained 40. According to Johnson, the irregularities that spurred the suspension concerned four countries, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Azerbaijan. 

In DB 2020, Togo gained 40 places and was ranked top performer in Africa and 3rd in the world. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, the Nunya Lab incubator has started recruiting its second batch of young innovative entrepreneurs. 

Togolese entrepreneurs can apply to get support from the incubator which is backed by the FAIEJ (Fonds d’Appui aux Initiatives Economiques des Jeunes - Fund Supporting Youth-led Economic Initiatives) and the UNDP’s acceleration lab. 

For pre-incubation and incubation programs, registration is open to candidates from any country. 

This year, registration will be done online through the Nunya Lab Prime platform. The deadline for registering is December 10, 2020. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo will accelerate its actions in developing projects under the Millenium Challenge Corporation Threshold. This was disclosed last Tuesday by Stanilas Baba, the national coordinator of Millenium Challenge Account in Togo. 

After signing papers to initiate the disbursement of the $35 million allocated to the MCC threshold, creating the MCA-Togo implementation body (OMCA-Togo), launching recruitment, Lomé faced a hurdle with the covid-19 outbreak, Baba indicated. 

He further noted that Togo will submit all the documentation related to the MCC Threshold projects before the next board meeting of the MCC. 

The projects in question should focus on ICTs, land, and services, with the improvement of access to land as the ultimate goal. 

Séna Akoda