Togo will review its national development plan to adapt to the coronavirus crisis which affects both the local and global economy. 

This was announced by the minister of economy and finance, Sani Yaya, at the beginning of the 19th national review of reforms’ performances. 

On the occasion, the official declared: “We can learn a lot from the Covid-19 pandemic (...), especially about rethinking our economic model to make it less dependent on external economies and therefore more resilient to external shocks.”

Concretely, the "updated" and "revised" development plan should focus even more on agro-industrial development and agricultural value chains. “The new policy will revolve around creating growth clusters of industrial processing units of our raw materials, particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors to develop value chains and create more jobs,” the minister said.

As a reminder, articulated in three axes, the Plan aims to achieve a growth rate of 7.6% by 2022, and create 500,000 direct jobs in the process.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Major actors of Togo’s tourism have gathered in Kpalimé since last Wednesday to update laws regulating the sector. 

At the end of the meeting, the country should have new laws that are better adapted to current needs and community policies. 

For the government and concerned actors, the main objective is to make the tourism industry more competitive and attractive, and ultimately make it one of the main drivers of economic growth. 

Let it be highlighted that the current laws are more than 30 years old. 

Still, to boost the sector, measures are being taken to improve the quality of services, relative to hygiene and food security, in hotels. 

The State secretary in charge of financial inclusion and the informal sector will set up a CFA20 billion credit line for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Togo. The move aligns with measures announced at the recent State summit held concerning the response to Covid-19. 

An agreement was signed last Friday by the National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI) and Orabank-Togo in this framework. Mazamaesso Assih, the head of the State secretary in charge of financial inclusion and the informal sector, was present at the occasion. 

The credit line will enable businesses concerned, regardless of the sector in which they operate, to get loans of up to CFA10 million at a subsidized rate of 5%. This should bolster their activity. 

Séna Akoda

For its third simultaneous bond issue on the UMOA-securities market this year, Togo garnered more than CFA76 billion. The operation which closed last Friday thus recorded a subscription rate of 255% since the country was seeking CFA30 billion. 

While both issues involved fungible treasury bonds, their maturity periods differ. The first, which enabled Togo to mobilize over CFA50 billion from investors, will mature over three years. For the second, its maturity period is five years and the country raised CFA26 billion in its framework.  

It should however be noted that out of the amount mobilized, only 33 billion will be retained, according to a statement from the UMOA-securities agency. The funds will finance the country’s budget. 

Senna Akoda

After serving as head of the EU delegation in Togo for the past three years, Cristina Martins Barreira ended her mandate in the country last week.  

In this framework, she was received on August 21 by Togolese PM, Komi Selom Klassou who bid her farewell. “From Togo, I keep in mind the welcome of the Togolese people, good relations with authorities. I have always felt at home and I leave with a little regret,” she said.

Officially appointed as the head of the EU delegation in Togo in September 2017 (replacing Nicolas Berlanga-Martinez), Barreira worked to improve the cooperation between the EU and the West African nation, especially relative to actions supporting decentralization - In this area, a major milestone was reached last year with the organization of the first local elections in 30 years.

Above all, one of the major achievements recorded during the outgoing executive’s three-year term was the first Togo-EU Economic Forum (FETUE) organized in June 2019. The FETUE laid foundations for a new impetus in relations between Togo and the Old Continent, particularly in the area of investment.

A $365,000 cash transfer fund will be set up in Togo for local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In its pilot stage, 50 enterprises will be selected to be supported by the fund.

The UNDP and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which are spearheading the scheme, are seeking a microfinance institution that will facilitate MSMEs' access to funding in the country. The institution picked will receive $50,000 from the two UN bodies to develop financial products adapted to concerned enterprises. 

The UNDP and UNCDF, still under the project, will hire two more firms - one to build a digital tool to record MSMEs' transactions and another to reinforce their capacities. 

Firms interested in taking part in the project must submit their applications by September 2, 2020. 

Séna Akoda

Togo's water utility, Togolaise des Eaux (TdE), inaugurated on 18 August 2020 two new commercial agencies, in Adétikopé (Agoè-Nyivé prefecture) and Djagblé (Zio prefecture) respectively.

According to TdE’s management, the agencies will provide water to people of these localities and enable the company to offer its customers better services.

"After completing these facilities as part of the Water and Sanitation projects, we decided to turn them into agencies so that our technical and commercial services can be close to the population, to identify their needs, and expand our network to their benefit," says the ToE director.

Each of the agencies has a building and a water tower (with a capacity of 400m3 for the one in Adétikopé, and 200 m3 for that in Djagblé). They were financed by the European Union, for a total cost of about 600 million FCFA.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi