The Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe is expected to meet this Wednesday his counterpart from France, Emmanuel Macron. 

This is the first official visit of the Togolese leader since he was reelected for a new term. According to the Togolese presidency, this visit falls under the “strengthening of cooperation ties, partnership and friendship  between France and Togo.”

During their meeting, many common interest topics will be covered by the two leaders. These should include the security situation in the Sahel region, transition in Mali (a situation in which Togo is much involved), threats from terrorist groups in the northern part of Togo, and bilateral relations between France and Togo. 

Séna Akoda

Sunu Bank has recorded its first benefit in two years. This is the third time that the lender, formerly Banque Populaire pour l’Epargne et le Crédit (BPEC), is in the green. In 2013, it recorded a profit of CFA5 million, and in 2017 it had an exceptional positive net result of over CFA3 billion. 

Since 2012, Sunu Bank (the bank’s name changed after it was acquired by SUNU Investment Holding) has suffered billions in losses, despite negative net results having significantly fallen over the period.

Data available shows a clear difference when comparing the year 2020 to the years 2018 and 2019 where the bank reported negative net results of 197 million CFA and 247 million CFA, respectively. 

Assets increase substantially 

At the same time, the lender’s assets grew from CFA97 billion to 132 billion CFA (+36%) while its equity was reduced by about CFA11 billion. The latter results from the new owner’s efforts in turning around the situation. In effect, Sunu Bank initially reduced its capital of CFA20.8 billion by halving its shares’ nominal value, from CFA10,000 to CFA4,500. It later proceeded to public fundraising arranged by the Société de Gestion et d’Intermédiation (SGI-Togo) to mobilize CFA1.8 billion. The operation involved the issue of 400,000 new shares of CFA4,500 per unit. 

“SUNU Bank continues its transformation phase with an encouraging result for our shareholders and customers. In this particular global context, it is a pride for the SUNU group to see its first bank return to profit,” Myriam Adotevi, Managing Director of Sunu Bank, told Togo First. “We are keeping our prospects and ambitions in sight to continue to offer innovative and quality products and services to customers,” she added.

On April 16, 2021, the bank’s shareholders will approve the past year’s accounts, with no dividends to be shared. SUNU Bank, it should be noted, initiated its transformation process by focusing on digitization.

Séna Akoda

For the second time, consecutively, Togo will have a “consume local month.” The announcement was made on the Twitter account of the Ministry of trade, industry, and local consumption. 

The event is scheduled for October, the month decreed by member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) as the “consume local month.” 

On this occasion, many activities will enable concerned actors to work together, valorize and promote the consumption of local goods and services, by the Togolese population. 

In the same framework, a measure introduced by Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe urges ministries and State companies to prioritize the consumption of local goods. 

Also, the Organization for Food and Local Development (OADEL) explained that “Supporting public orders for local food products is a commitment to sustainable socio-economic development in Togo.”

Séna Akoda

“As part of his many efforts to fight and eradicate the pandemic, the Head of State, after health personnel, has ordered the vaccination, with no age differentiation, of all staff members of hotels in Grand Lomé.” This was announced last Friday by Kossi Lamadokou, the Togolese minister of tourism and culture. 

Any hotel worker who refuses to be vaccinated will be sent on a technical leave until the pandemic ends, the minister warned in a written address to the heads of the country’s hotels. 

The move was motivated by an urgent need to slow the spread of the virus. Hotels, it should be noted, are significant vectors of this spread, given their activities. 

Daniel Agbenonwossi (Intern)

A new delivery service, Chap Chap, has launched operations in Togo. The announcement was made on April 1 by the company which stated: “Our service is officially operational for your parcels and mail shipment”.

According to Alao Lawal, Chap Chap’s founder, the particularity of the new delivering service is that it is exclusively digital and uses geolocalization. In Togo, Chap Chap joins Delivroum, another service recently acquired by Gozem. 

Chap Chap has a website and a mobile app, just like Kaba Delivery which also works in Lomé. 

Séna Akoda

In 2019, Togo exported over $80 million worth of goods to Niger, according to data gathered by the UN. 

The exports include mainly livestock and oils (valued at around $25 million), as well as plastics and derivatives ($14.5 million). There were also vehicles, sugar, iron, steel, wines, fabrics, alcohol drinks and other beverages.

This makes Niger Togo’s fourth export destination over the period reviewed, with 8.9% of all Togolese exports. The new performance is far better than that recorded in 2018; it stood at about $38 million. 

The increase is attributable primarily to the Port of Lomé’s performances which were significantly driven up by the Togolese government’s efforts to make the infrastructure a logistics hub across the region. 

It should be noted that President Gnassingbé was in Niamey on April 2, 2021, to take part in the swearing-in ceremony of Niger’s newly elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum. It is to be expected that bilateral cooperation between the two countries, at the trade, politial and diplomatic levels, will further improve, especially given growing talks of an open market in Africa. 

Séna Akoda

The Nunya Lab incubator urges young Togolese entrepreneurs, startups, and professionals to run in its Hack your Administration contest. The latter promotes digital innovations in public services. 

Themed “Digitizing public services to better help citizens,” this hackathon has a winning prize of CFA3 billion. Applicants must submit their projects by April 10, 2021. 

In effect, these projects can be in any of the following areas: health, business startup, tax management, delivery of nationality papers, insurance, education, visa issuance, employment and land. 

The projects may consist of the design and delivery of products or services, computer software, mobile applications, websites or computer devices.

Daniel Agbenonwossi (intern)

The Société Aéroportuaire de Lomé Tokoin (SALT) has resumed steps to renew its airdrome certificate after halting the process in 2019 due to Covid-19.

In this framework, experts, from Senegal, Niger, and Togo, are gathered since March 29, 2021, with the executives of the entity which manages infrastructures at the International Airport of Lomé (AIGE). 

For two weeks, all the parties meeting will assess the airdrome facilities ensuring they are safe for use and confirm the safety of the Togolese air space. This assessment, the AIGE indicates, “is the 3rd out of 5 phases of the process to examine equipment, facilities, and operational procedures in line with applicable certification standards.”

The five phases concerned are the expression of interest by the applicant, the formal application including the evaluation of the airdrome facilities and equipment, the issuance or refusal of the airdrome certificate, the publication of the status of the certified airdrome, and the required details. 

According to the experts gathered, emphasis will be put on how efficiently the applicant will manage its operations and potential issues will be addressed to the applicant in written form. They further observed that it would “befall the applicant to take the necessary measure to tackle these issues” before securing the requested certificate. 

The SALT’s airdrome, it should be noted, has been operating for a year with a provisional certificate issued by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).    

Daniel Agbenonwossi (intern)