Last Saturday, Togolese startup Confordia launched Confordia.com, a platform that handles accommodation and events. The launch took place in Lomé, the Togolese capital.

The platform, according to the platform’s promoters, was launched because they identified a demand for the service - accommodation seeking (furnished apartments and hotels) in Togo, especially within its inland areas.  "Visitors often express this need, but there is no digital solution to meet their expectations. Our initiative is, therefore, a solution to this need," said Anselme Efu, MD Confordia and the man behind Confordia.com. The startup already boasts 70 partnerships with accommodation facilities in Togo. 

Besides accommodation, Confordia also “helps organize events, from the planning stage to the effective launch, handling logistics and equipment delivery, or providing auxiliary services like providing hostesses, decoration, catering, and more,” Efu revealed. 

How does the platform work ? 

First, users need to fill a form on the website, 48 hours later, they receive available offers matching the information that was provided on the form. While facilitating interaction between businesses and individuals, Confordia does not charge its users. Soon, the company plans to introduce digital payment tools.

It should be recalled that Anselme Efu, Confordia’s boss, won the Digital Marketing award at the 2019 Afro Marketers Awards.

Séna Akoda

Over the past three years, the quality of landline internet has improved significantly in Togo. This is reflected by greater access to fiber optics in Lomé, and major investment commitments by operators. Togo First looks at the progress made in the sector in this article. 

Access to landline internet bolstered amid Covid-19

The number of landline Internet subscribers in Togo increased by more than 65% to 52,707 in 2020. This surge, fostered by the social distancing measures linked to the Covid-19, was mainly driven by Togo Telecom and GVA Togo (Canalbox). While Vivendi's subsidiary was the main driver of this growth (+207%), the subscriber base of the Togolese incumbent operator has also increased considerably, up 38% to more than 32,500 subscribers.

Canalbox drives growth in the sector 

Sustaining its 2019 upward dynamics, Canalbox - Togolese subsidiary of Vivendi group - more than tripled its number of fiber-optic customers in 2020. From 5,945, the figure soared to 18,720 (+207%). While impressive, this performance is still lower than the growth recorded in 2019, knowingly 404% (1,180 in 2018 against 5,945 in 2019).

In terms of revenue generated, the Internet Service Provider reached almost a billion CFA (990 million) in 2020, up by 230% compared to earnings generated in 2019 (where the figure had jumped by more than 400%).

Fiber-to-the-home: Canalbox overtakes Togo Telecom

Canalbox, therefore, snatched the place of the best provider of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet from Togo Télécom last year. This is despite the latter gaining 56% (reaching 11,124) more customers over the period reviewed. On that segment, Canalbox’s subscriber base has passed the 18,000 mark. 

Togo Telecom still leads ADSL and dedicated lines markets

Although it has lost its leadership position in the optical fiber segment, the incumbent operator continues to control the other access technologies. For ADSL, subscriptions have risen by 35%, while connections via dedicated lines have increased by 42%.

Togo Telecom alone accounts for more than 68% of landline Internet subscriptions, compared with 38% for CanalBox. Better still, with a turnover of 7.6 billion FCFA, up 35%, the TogoCom subsidiary now holds 86% of that market, far ahead of GVA (990 million FCFA, 11%), CAFE Informatique (227 million FCFA, 2.6%) and Teolis (42 million FCFA, 0.5%). 

Café Informatique continues its fall from grace

Last year, Café Informatique lost more customers while the other ISPs active in the country experienced a pandemic-induced boom. From 2,334 clients in 2019, the company which is headed by Jean-Marie Noagbodji had 1,768 clients in 2020. The downward performance also spread to the firm’s income; it fell by 33% to 227 million FCFA from one year to the other.

“No-investment” policy

Besides Togo Telecom which increased its investments in 2020, other operators were prudent in 2020, lowering their spending.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Affoh Atcha Dedji, the Togolese minister of transport, represented Togo at the 33rd plenary session of the African Civil Aviation Commission in Kigali, Rwanda. During the event, he stressed the need for African countries to adhere to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

Dedji also talked about the benefits of the SAATM which already has 35 members.

Launched in 2018 by African heads of state and government, the SAATM falls under the African Union (AU) 2063 Agenda. Its main goal is to liberalize and unify African airspaces.  As such, it should increase connectivity on the continent and promote the development of the aviation sector, tourism and trade.

President Faure Gnassingbé was picked as the AU’s champion for the initiative.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese ministry of education will start building 30,000 classrooms across the country on December 20, 2021. The project is named “Increasing school capacity”.

The head of the ministry, Komla Kokoroko, said it will also include rehabilitation works and the supply of equipment. The project aligns with the government’s 2020-2025 roadmap. 

According to our sources, the government gives special attention to education in Togo. As such, this year, the sector was allocated CFA195.5 billion or 25.1% of the budget set for ministries and public institutions in the country. This is against CFA123 billion (16.3%) in 2020.

Esaïe Edoh 

Lomé will host the seventh edition of the Gabon-Togo mixed commission. The request was made Thursday by Gabon’s PM, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, as she met with the Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbé.

While the date of the event is yet to be disclosed, it is known that it will gather officials from both countries who will share their experience towards achieving their respective development goals. 

The upcoming event should help Togo and Gabon “define new mechanisms to leverage investment and development opportunities to profit the people of these sibling countries.” 

Last Monday, Togolese and Gabonese ministers had a working session in the framework of the event. It took place in Lomé. On the occasion, they discussed mainly issues related to youth, women, the environment, sustainable development, and digitization.

It should be recalled that the two States cooperate in many areas, including wood. Last July, they signed a memorandum of understanding to ease the export of wood products from Gabon to Togo.

Esaïe Edoh

A delegation from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) met with the Togolese Prime Minister. The meeting which took place in Lomé aimed at reviewing the MCC’s threshold program in Togo.

Other significant participants present included Sani Yaya (Togo’s minister of economy), Cina Lawson (minister for the digital economy), Payadowa Boukpessi (minister for territorial administration), Stanislas Baba (country coordination of the MCA in Togo), Malick Natchaba (Secretary-General of the Government). There was also the U.S. ambassador in Togo, Eric Stromayer. 

"We have noted satisfactory progress by the Togolese government about the reforms made in the ICT sector and also in the land sector. We have here a government that is committed, that has introduced some reforms and can introduce even more, and we are going to work together," said Mahmoud Bah, MCC's Acting CEO.

"We have been working on the terms of reference on which the government is currently reporting and we are confident that we will have a roadmap that will lead us to concrete results in the coming months. We believe we have a strong partnership with Togo, with a government that has a clear vision of inclusive development," he added.

The MCC delegation and the Togolese government are expected to draw a roadmap to achieve concrete results relative to the implementation of the Threshold Program in Togo, especially in the land and ICT sectors.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State ($35 million or about CFA20 billion), the Threshold Program mainly aims to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. It has two components : the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) reform project and the land reform project. While the former aims to improve business efficiency, productivity, investment and growth through improved access to high-quality ICT services at a reasonable cost in Togo, the latter is expected to accelerate agricultural productivity towards improving land tenure security and increasing investment in agriculture.

The grant agreement was signed on February 14, 2019, and the program started in November 2020.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo has updated its Covid health pass and urges current holders to download the new version, in order to use it in the European Union (EU) and other African countries.

The news was disclosed by the ministry for posts and digital economy which is behind the technology. 

The pass, which is available for download on a dedicated website, was recently recognized by the EU and the African Union (AU).

Proparco, the French development finance institution, recently said it is committed to backing Togo in implementing its development projects. A delegation from the institution expressed its support to President Faure Gnassingbé yesterday, in Lomé. 

The Proparco delegation is presently taking part in the Rencontres Africa forum which was recently started in Lomé.

"I had the opportunity to meet the President of the Republic and I have told him about the goals we aim at in regards to our participation in the Rencontre Africa in Lomé. I believe that with PROPARCO's support, our local partners will become stronger and continue supporting the growth of startups and SMEs, thereby enabling them to play a greater role in the creation of jobs and value in Togo," said Gregory Clemente, Proparco's Managing Director after meeting with President Gnassingbé.

This commitment to supporting Togo’s economic development “perfectly aligns with the Togolese government’s development strategy”, added Proparco’s boss. 

Before meeting the Togolese leader, the French delegation met with some local young entrepreneurs and they talked about the difficulties that these youths face in getting financing. Both sides then explored options to tackle the issue. 

Proparco is the subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD). Its mission is to foster sustainable development in the economic, social, and environmental spheres. The institution intervenes mainly in the following sectors: infrastructure, renewable energy, agribusiness, financing, health, and education.

Esaïe Edoh