As the country eases restrictive measures aimed at containing the Covid-19, Togolese authorities plan to use digital solutions and ICTs to promote tourism and boost the sector’s performances. 

Among others, a new portal will be created to give a new momentum (...) to Togolese tourism through digital technologies and social networks, the minister of tourism, Kossivi Egbetonyo, on the world tourism day. The tools, he added, will be useful “to restart tourist activities.” 

Here, both international and (especially) local tourists are targeted. Indeed, the government also plans to “promote domestic tourism and proximity tourism.” 

In line with the move, which should help boost the revenues of a sector severely hit by the pandemic, many projects are underway. According to Egbetonyo, the latter includes works to “rehabilitate the Womé waterfalls site in the Kloto prefecture, the blast furnaces of Nangbani in the Bassar prefecture, as well as exploring for new sites in various prefectures.” 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

For its establishment and expansion in Togo, Cimenterie de Côte Ouest-Africaine (CimCo) will receive a CFA20 billion loan from the BOAD. The long-term facility was approved last Friday by the Bank’s board of directors. 

CimCo is the subsidiary of CimMetal group which belongs to Burkinabe businessman Kanzoe Inoussa. The group intends to invest nearly CFA100 billion in its Togolese project. 

Already, CimMetal, which obtained at the end of 2019 the government’s approval to start activities in the country has ordered the construction of a cement factory in the industrial zone of the Lomé port. The plant, which will have a production capacity of 2.5 million tons per year will be designed and built by German firms Intercem and Gebr Pfeiffer, respectively. The factory should become operational in Q1 2021 - it will help meet the needs of the region. 

Besides Togo where it is now entering, CimMetal has one cement plant in Burkina Faso (CimFaso launched in 2015), another in Ivory Coast (Cim Ivoire launched early last year), and is building a third one in Mali (Cim Mali).

According to the BOAD, “the targeted goal is to contribute to the satisfaction of cement demand in Togo and the region by taking advantage of the geographic location of the port of Lomé, as well as to contribute to the country’s economic growth by boosting the competitiveness of the industrial sector along with performances of the infrastructure sector.”

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Last Friday, Togo raised CFA27.5 billion on the regional financial market, by issuing fungible treasury bonds.

This was disclosed by the Umoa-securities agency which noted that for the operation, the country was initially seeking CFA25 billion (to finance its 2029 management budget). 

Overall, subscriptions to the issue exceeded CFA71 billion, thus representing a coverage rate of 284%. 

Reimbursement will be made on the first working day after the maturity date which is August 24, 2025. Interests are set at 6.4% per annum and will be paid from the first to the final year of maturity.

Séna Akoda

Togo has changed the base year for its GDP, following the new accounting methods of major international institutions. The country, like many others in Africa, has migrated from the System of National Accounts 1993 (1993 SNA) to the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA). 

The change steered by the national institute for statistics, economic and demographic studies (INSEED) has impacted not only the evaluation of the GDP but also key factors such as debt and fiscal pressure. 

Improvements in GDP 

Using the former SNA, Togo’s GDP in 2019 was estimated at CFA3,216.8 billion while it is now estimated at CFA4,230.6 billion with the 2008 SNA. Also, updated projections for 2020 - based on the new system - stand at CFA4,399.9 billion. 

According to official notes, the increase is mainly due to “better data sources, with broader coverage of targets, especially informal activities which were not sufficiently taken into consideration in the old system (1993 SNA).”

All convergence criteria are still met

The revaluation of the nominal GDP has significantly affected the country’s results.

As a result, Togo, which already met all primary WAEMU convergence criteria, now records an improvement in the debt ratio and fiscal balance (grants included) relative to GDP. 

In detail, the debt ratio (debt to GDP) changed from 68.3% to 51.9% in 2019. In 2020, this ratio is forecast at 51.8%, still far below the 70% standard.  

Fiscal pressure

Contrary to GDP figures which have improved, the fiscal pressure rate (for 2019) has deteriorated - from 16.3%, in the former accounts system, to 20.8% in the new system. New forecasts for 2020 put the figure at 14.6% (against 21.1% in the 1993 SNA). 

The change in the base year for the GDP was discussed on September 22, 2020, during a council of ministers. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Germany has provided Togo with €10 million to rehabilitate its rural roads. In effect, the funds will finance the third phase of the rural road support project (PAPR). 

The agreement for the donation was signed last Thursday in Lomé, by the Togolese Minister of finance and the German ambassador. Other officials present at the ceremony included the Togolese ministers of transport and agriculture. 

The facility will help extend the PAPR to production segments in the agricultural sector, by opening up some of the country's areas - especially areas where cotton, coffee, or cocoa are grown.

"Rural roads play a key role in reducing the minimum poverty threshold of rural populations, by opening up production areas and fostering the free movement of goods and people," Minister Yaya declared. 

With more than 2500 rural roads rehabilitated between 2016 and 2018, Togo intends to set a new record to fast-track the emergence of regional growth poles.

The total cost for the PAPR is around €35 million. It is financed by KfW (€17 million), the French Development Agency or AFD (€10 million), and the Togolese State (€8.4 million).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Jonas Aklésso Daou is the new head of the Togolese Large Companies Association (Association des Grandes Entreprises du Togo - AGET). He was elected for a three-year mandate yesterday, by a mixed general assembly of the association. 

The head of Kapi Consult, Sodigaz, and the car dealer of Diwa International will thus replace Clément Ahialey. 

Additionally, Charles Gafan, chief of Bolloré group in Togo, Jean-Marie Tessi, managing director Gta-Insurances, and Souleymane Touré, MD Ecobank Togo, will also join the AGET. 

The AGET is a professional association that represents big companies operating in the industry, services, trade, and construction sectors. In 2018, it recorded a total turnover of CFA850 billion. 

It is one of the main business networks in Togo, in terms of tax contribution to the State budget (more than CFA135 billion in taxes and duties). The association has over 10,000 registered employees. 

Séna Akoda

Over the next 12 months, 20 rural health centers will be provided solar-powered generators by Kya Energy Group. This was disclosed by Yao Azoumah, CEO of the Lomé-based international group which specializes in clean energies (with a focus on solar). 

As part of the project for which the firm landed a subsidy of $450,000, each of the health centers concerned will also be equipped with automatic soap dispensers and a fridge, among others. 

Kya Energy secured the subsidy following a call for projects launched by Power Africa via USAID. Selected firms - all specialized in solar energy - will share $2.6 million (more than CFA1.4 billion) to supply off-grid power to 300 health centers across the sub-Saharan Africa region. This will enable the benefiting infrastructures to have continuous access to power and thus ensure they do not experience any disruption while providing healthcare. 

Besides Kya Energy Group, other companies selected for the project are from Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Malawi. 

Séna  Akoda

Since it started activities in 2018, the Lomé-based transport startup Gozem has raised more than $3 million.  

With a seed capital of $900,000, Nigerian entrepreneur, Emeka Ajene, and Raphaël Dana, a French-Swiss entrepreneur based in Singapore, launched the moto-taxi booking service in the Togolese capital while eying the West and Central African markets. “This was to introduce efficiencies into the personal transport sectors in these markets, and also to replicate the success of Gojek and Grab here in Africa,” Ajene confided in an interview with Techpoint Africa. 

As the startup recorded great success in Lomé, it was able to secure three times the initial funding from investors to expand in Africa. This also allowed it to add tricycles (to carry people and goods) and taxis to its services.  

Leveraging partnerships with supermarkets, oil companies, among others, Gozem has made it possible for its users to buy products online and profit from delivery services. 

In Q1 2020, Gozem completed a record 500,000 rides, up from 350,000 in Q4 2019. 

Still hungry for more, the startup wants to secure more funds to finance its expansion in markets such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. 

Séna Akoda

Anti-covid-19 safety measures implemented at the airport of Lomé are being evaluated, congruent with the infrastructure’s activity resumption plan. An audit was indeed launched in this regard on Sept. 24 to make sure the action plan adopted meets existing requirements. 

Among steps taken by the airport is the creation of an App to track passengers and test them upon arrival and departure. Regarding the latter, a molecular biology lab financed by the World Bank was set up. 

The modern facility was officially delivered to the airport’s authority on Sept. 24 as well. According to the officials in charge of the lab, since its operationalization, thousands of passengers have been tested. The tests show that more passengers leaving the country tested positive than those coming in - a conclusion that mitigates the risk of importing new cases. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi