Lomé will host the third edition of the Biashara Africa Forum from October 20 to 22, 2025, bringing together business leaders and policy-makers to boost trade and investment across Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.

Togo confirmed its readiness to host the event during a meeting held on August 6 between Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Council, and Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, who was in Lomé on a working visit.

“The purpose of our visit today is to assess the Togolese government's offer to host the third edition of Biashara Africa,” said Mene. “We are grateful that Togo has agreed to host this major event,” he added, praising Lomé’s strong commitment to Africa’s economic integration.

Save the Date!
Biashara Afrika 2025
20–22 October | Lomé, Togo
The AfCFTA’s premier platform for public-private dialogue returns — connecting businesses, policymakers, and innovators to shape Africa’s trade future.#BA2025 | #CreatingOneAfricanMarket pic.twitter.com/sfjxeQ62Va

— AfCFTA Secretariat Official (@AfCFTA) May 22, 2025

The Biashara Africa Forum aims to provide a high-level platform where public officials and private sector actors can discuss trade implementation strategies and identify investment opportunities under the AfCFTA.

This year’s edition will focus on removing barriers to market access, sharing commercial data, and providing regulatory guidance to businesses. Organizers say these tools will help African companies make better decisions when entering or expanding into new markets within the continent.

Le Président du Conseil, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé a accordé ce mercredi 06 août 2025 une audience à Monsieur Wamkele Mene, Secrétaire général de la Zone de libre-échange continentale africaine (ZLECAF) en visite de travail à Lomé.https://t.co/4P3JRjXb5G pic.twitter.com/O7dUj50EMl

— Présidence du Conseil du Togo (@presidencecstg) August 6, 2025

On the sidelines of the forum announcement, Wamkele Mene and President Gnassingbé reviewed the progress of AfCFTA implementation and Togo’s contributions to the integration effort.

“I congratulated the president on Togo’s involvement in this process. The country was among the first to implement the AfCFTA. It has strategic infrastructures, such as an efficient deep-water port, and is positioning itself as a logistics and transport hub for West and Central Africa,” Mene said.

The AfCFTA, a flagship African Union initiative under Agenda 2063, seeks to create a single market for goods and services by reducing trade barriers among member states. The agreement is designed to boost intra-African trade, attract investments, and enhance Africa’s global competitiveness.

Esaie Edoh

Togo officially opened the sixth edition of the Made in Togo fair this week at the Lomé Exhibition and Fair Center (CETEF-Togo 2000). Minister of Commerce Rose Kayi Mivedor-Sambiani launched the event on August 1, 2025.

Over 200 local producers—including artisans, agripreneurs, manufacturers, and startups—are showcasing their products. Organizers expect the fair to attract nearly 40,000 visitors.

This year’s theme, “Let’s consume Togolese for a strong and sustainable economy,” reflects the government’s push to promote national production and reduce import dependency. The fair positions itself as a leading national initiative for building resilient local value chains.

Minister Mivedor-Sambiani stressed that supporting Togolese products goes beyond patriotic sentiment. “Consuming local is more than a symbolic choice,” she said. It is a structuring act for the economy, generating jobs, resilience, and industrial sovereignty.

Beyond the exhibition, the fair offers a space for dialogue and collaboration between producers, institutional partners, and buyers. It helps foster commercial opportunities and link entrepreneurs with new markets.

The fair also plays a strategic role in showcasing Togo’s rapidly evolving economic fabric—where more businesses are formalizing and new sectors are emerging.

Togo has secured CFA800 million in fresh support from Japan under the Kennedy Round 2025 (KR 2025) food aid project. Japan delivers this funding as part of its non-reimbursable financial cooperation, allowing Togo to purchase rice. The rice will be sold at subsidized prices to vulnerable groups.

The Kennedy Round project does more than provide food aid. It acts as an economic tool by recycling revenue from rice sales into a counterpart fund. This fund finances structural projects, especially in agriculture and education. This strategy strengthens nutrition security and promotes long-term socio-economic growth.

Ambassador Junji Gomakubo highlighted Japan’s commitment to Togo by reminding, “Japan supports Togo’s efforts to improve the food situation, particularly through the development of ZAAP (Planned Agricultural Development Zones).”

Togo’s Minister of Agriculture, Antoine Lekpa Gbegbeni, called the partnership “crucial” amid rising food price volatility. He emphasized, “The sale of KR rice, beyond its contribution to strengthening food and nutritional security, helps stabilize market prices and creates counterpart funds that serve to implement development projects for the welfare of our populations.”

This latest donation supplements previous shipments, including 2,275 tonnes of rice delivered in February 2025 under KR 2023. Another shipment is planned by the end of 2025 as part of KR 2024. Togo has already used counterpart funds effectively, purchasing 130 tractors to mechanize ZAAP sites.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo) has positioned itself to play a central role in advancing the Kara agropole initiative, a flagship agro-industrial project aimed at transforming the country’s agricultural sector.

On August 4, chamber officials met with the project’s management team in Kara to review progress and identify private-sector entry points. The Kara agropole, launched in 2022, prioritizes key value chains — including maize, rice, soybeans, poultry, cashew, and sesame — and is part of a broader national strategy to develop agricultural growth corridors with industrial capabilities.

During the meeting, project leaders outlined major milestones, expected economic impacts, and financial and technical support mechanisms available to private investors. Delegates also toured active construction sites to assess infrastructure development firsthand.

“As business leaders, it is our duty to spread the word to both national and international investors,” said José Syménouh, president of CCI-Togo. “We must explain the agropole model and highlight the investment potential it offers.”

The Kara agropole aims to boost local food processing, lift farmer incomes, reduce poverty, and cut the country's reliance on imported staples — all while generating long-term employment in northern Togo.

This article was initially published in French by Esaie Edoh

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

The Togolese government has announced plans to recruit 1,000 National Education Volunteers ahead of the 2025–2026 academic year, in a nationwide initiative aimed at bolstering education in underserved areas.

The effort, led by the National Volunteer Agency (ANVT) in coordination with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MEPS), seeks to strengthen the teaching workforce in rural and semi-urban communities. Volunteers will be deployed across the country to support instruction in core subjects including mathematics, science, literature, and philosophy.

Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old and possess at least a bachelor’s or master’s degree, depending on the education level they aim to teach.

While the Togolese government frames the new recruitment drive as a response to the national teacher shortage, the initiative comes against the backdrop of persistently overcrowded classrooms and a lack of qualified educators — challenges that continue to stall educational progress.

Selected volunteers will receive a monthly stipend, health insurance, and structured support over a 12-month period, renewable based on performance evaluations. Interested candidates must apply exclusively through the ANVT’s online platform or mobile application by August 15, 2025, no later than 11:00 p.m. GMT.

Further details are available in the official recruitment announcement.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Regional Council of the Maritime Region of Togo and the Chinese province of Shandong plan to establish a decentralized cooperation partnership in the near future. As part of this initiative, a Chinese delegation is currently visiting Lomé to explore avenues for collaboration.

During the visit, the delegation was informed about the economic assets of the Maritime Region, which has a population of around 3.5 million, according to the 2022 census, and thus represents a significant consumer market.

Local authorities also presented the key sectors that could be the focus of a partnership. These include agriculture, livestock, infrastructure, energy, environment, health, and institutional development.

Shandong Province, one of China's key regions, was showcased by the Chinese delegation for its strong economic and cultural profile. Situated on the eastern coast, it boasts a population exceeding 100 million and covers all 41 UN-recognized industrial sectors. According to Fan Huaping, Vice-Chairman of the Provincial People's Congress, the province recorded a GDP of €1.4 trillion in 2023.

Following the discussions, both sides agreed to pursue further talks aimed at establishing active decentralized cooperation, aligned with the momentum of China-Africa bilateral ties reaffirmed at the recent FOCAC 2024 Forum.

Esaïe Edoh

Seven Togolese financial institutions have officially joined the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s (WAEMU) Interoperable Platform for Instant Payment Systems (PI-SPI), the regional central bank BCEAO announced in a recent press release. The pilot project aims to modernize and unify payment systems across member countries.

The newly integrated banks include Banque Atlantique, BOA, COFINA, BIAT, CORIS Bank, Ecobank, and Orabank. Set for a formal launch on September 30, the platform promises 24/7 real-time transaction capabilities across various account types — from traditional bank accounts to mobile money.

This initiative is expected to cut transaction times and costs, while bolstering interoperability among diverse financial players. Notably, Ecobank and Orabank participated in earlier testing phases within Togo, supporting efforts to accelerate regional commerce through digital finance.

Since early June, live user trials have been underway, evaluating the platform’s security and usability. Positive results from these tests pave the way for a full-scale rollout across the WAEMU region.

This technological breakthrough promises to revolutionize payments across the WAEMU zone, enhancing the speed and reliability of financial flows while driving broader access to banking services in countries where such access is still limited.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

ASKY Airlines, the pan-African carrier headquartered in Lomé, has officially launched a direct route to Nouakchott, Mauritania, marking a key milestone in its regional expansion strategy. The service, inaugurated on August 2, 2025, brings ASKY’s network to 30 African cities and enhances Lomé’s position as a major regional hub.

The flight, operated by a 154-seat Boeing 737-800 including 16 Business class seats, operates three times weekly. ASKY’s Commercial Director, Martial Tévi-Bénissan, stated on LinkedIn that “This new route further strengthens Lomé’s role as a strategic hub for intra-African connectivity, significantly reducing travel times across West, Central, and Southern Africa. Passengers can now easily connect Nouakchott to cities such as Nairobi, Luanda, Brazzaville, Johannesburg, Cotonou, Libreville, Niamey, and many more, three times a week."

Until now, passengers traveling to Mauritania’s capital had to connect through Dakar, sometimes with overnight waits. ASKY’s new route offers a more efficient alternative, reducing travel times and cutting costs for passengers across the region.

The introduction of this route fits squarely within Togolese authorities’ ambitions to establish Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport as a pivotal regional logistics hub. After accommodating around 1.5 million passengers in 2024, the airport aims to increase that number to 2 million travelers, whether passing through or starting and ending their journeys in Lomé. The Nouakchott link is poised to play a significant role in meeting these goals.

Simultaneously, the route rollout complements ASKY Airlines' ongoing strategy, initiated in June 2024, to upgrade its operations. The airline intends to add two aircraft annually—mostly Boeing 787 models—building a fleet of 20 by 2027, all while launching two new destinations every year to enhance its continent-wide reach.

This article was initially published in French by Esaie Edoh 

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum