The World Bank has approved $70 million (CFA38.5 billion) to enable Togo to take an important step towards expanding health coverage to its entire population, which until now was reserved for public servants. 

In a press release sent to Togo First, the Bretton Woods institution says that it wants, through this support, "to help Togo lay the foundations for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to ensure that the population has access to quality health services."

It should be recalled that Togo is striving to achieve UHC. It recently launched the pilot phase for this project and it was managed by the INAM.

Universal health coverage should help improve access to basic health services through the construction and equipping of health centers. Also, it should allow more qualified human resources to serve the most disadvantaged regions. This is in a context where most households, especially the poorest, spend a lot on health services. 

The main challenge will be "to generalize health coverage for a large part of the Togolese population, especially the most vulnerable citizens, pregnant women, and children," says the Washington-based institution.

Moreover, "the project will help boost human capital in the country by helping Togo to make a significant leap towards achieving its development objectives contained in its National Health Development Plan," notes Hawa Wagué, World Bank Resident Representative for Togo.

Last November, let’s recall, the Togolese government adopted a bill on universal health coverage.

Séna Akoda

The Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEP) will benefit from an additional $22.5 million (CFA12.3 billion). The facility was approved on March 11, 2021, by the World Bank.

These resources allocated in the form of grants from the International Development Association (IDA) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) aim to support the development of the market for stand-alone solar systems in West and Central Africa, particularly in the Sahel countries. This facility complements the first round of financing of CFA150 billion approved in April 2019 by the Washington-based institution through its branch dedicated to developing countries and $67.2 million made available by the CTF. 

In total, 19 countries, including Togo, are covered by the project. "It will support activities to accelerate the deployment of stand-alone solar systems in a region where 50% of the population has no access to electricity, and less than 3% of its inhabitants use this type of innovative technology," says the World Bank.

The project reinforces the momentum to develop a regional off-grid market, through the harmonization of policies, standards, and trade procedures.

According to the World Bank, the initiative will also support energy companies, that promote off-grid, with acceleration programs and provide aid and loans for the deployment of off-grid solar home installations. 

Regarding Togo, the report of a study published in 2019 by ROGEP showed that the country had a potential market for the Off-Grid estimated at 500,000 households subdivided into 3 categories: households, productive systems (mills, drinking water supply), and public services (schools, health centers).

In addition to the ROGEP, several private operators, including Bboxx, Soleva, and Fénix, have joined the CIZO initiative, a flagship program for rural electrification using individual solar kits in Togo.

Séna Akoda

Between 2019 and 2020, the overall traffic of the Port of Lomé increased by about 12%, from about 22.7 million tons to about 25.5 million tons, according to provisional data provided by the port authorities.

In detail, imports recorded at the port grew by almost 15% over the period, from 6.5 million tons to 7.5 million tons. As for exports (national exports and transit combined), they soared by 3%, from 1.28 million tons to 1.32 million tons. Transshipment activities, meanwhile, have jumped annually by 12%. From 15 million tons in 2019, they reached 16.6 million tons in 2020. 

There has been a sustained evolution of port traffic over the last three years: 22.1 million tons in 2018, 22.7 in 2019, and 25.5 in 2020.

The figures tend to attest to the port's resilience in 2020, in a global context marked by a slowdown in traffic caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This situation reinforced the infrastructure's position as a transshipment hub for countries in the subregion. This is reflected in the strategy of some carriers, such as the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which have made Lomé a strategic relay in the deployment of a new freight policy on the continent, to face constraints caused by the pandemic on maritime traffic.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Agbanga Karité Alaffia, the shea nut processing firm owned by the Togolese Olowo-N’djo Tchala, will receive financing from the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub. The latter is a trade hub financed by USAID. It supports private businesses in West Africa, regarding sustainable development issues. 

The investment will be used to “purchase shea nut supplies and others worth $299,000, as well as to produce shea butter which will be exported to the US and other countries in 2021.” 

For Alaffia, the financing will help it meet its increasing costs, amid restrictions induced by Covid-19. “With the nuts bought using the money received from the Trade Hub alone, $2 million worth of shea butter and soaps should be exported from Togo to the US, by February 2022.” 

Regarding jobs, the announced investment is expected to preserve the job of 303 people working for Alaffia Togo, create 20 new ones for youths and women, and create income for more than 6,300 women who collect shea nuts. 

“This partnership with the Trade Hub is a major deal advancing Alaffia’s economic empowerment in Togo. It fosters sustainable development, job creation for women and youths, in addition to making the private sector more competitive,” said Olowo-n’djo Tchala.

In response, Michael Clements, project director at the Trade Hub said: “The Trade Hub is glad to help Alaffia create jobs, empower women, cut operating costs, and improve its sustainability. We believe this collaboration has great potential.”

On March 8, 2021, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) injected CFA218 billion into Togo’s banking market, at an interest rate of 2%. 

This loan is part of a larger amount - CFA3,419 billion - the Bank gave to commercial banks across the countries it covers. The facility is one of the weekly disbursements the BCEAO provides to the region’s 92 lenders.

Out of the total amount, Côte d’Ivoire secured the biggest piece of the pie, knowingly CFA1,095 billion (32%). Next come Senegal (CFA736 billion or 21.5%), Mali (CFA426 billion, 12.47%), Burkina Faso (CFA320 billion, 9.35%), Benin (CFA286 billion 8.36%), Niger (CFA278 billion, 8.1%). In terms of percentage share, Togo received 6.3% of the total sum. 

To set up his cement factory in Togo, Inoussa Kanazoe, CEO of Cim Metal Group, will spend CFA65 billion. The plant, which will mark the beginning of the group’s activities in the country, is set to produce 25 million tons of cement per year. 

The news was disclosed by Bassirou Sana, director of Cimco (Togolese subsidiary of Cim Metal Group). The executive said the plant should open next September, adding that the related preliminary works are 65% complete. Once active, the plant should generate 500 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect ones. 

It should be noted that Cimco got a CFA25 billion financing from the BOAD. 

In Togo, Cimco will compete with Heidelbergcement, WACEM, and Dangote Cement. 

Séna Akoda

AfricSearch Togo has been picked to recruit the members of the Management Team in charge of the e-ID Togo project. The task was trusted to the subsidiary of the eponymous human resources consulting firm by the ministry of the digital economy and digital transformation. 

In detail, the firm will find around 20 people, including a project manager. The deadline for application is March 22, 2021. 

The recruitment will mark a new step in the e-ID project. The latter, let’s recall, should be completed in three stages: software development, sensitization campaign, and a national registration campaign. 

The e-ID Togo project is backed by the World Bank, through its unique ID program for regional integration and inclusion in West Africa. In its framework, every Togolese citizen or any person living in Togo should get a unique ID number. In addition to helping draw a unique social registry, boosting health insurance coverage, and that of social protection mechanisms, the project will mostly accelerate operations in public services. 

Séna Akoda

To increase women’s participation in the West African finance industry, the African Development Bank (AfDB) disbursed $320,000 to promote gender inclusion in digital financial services across the ECOWAS space. 

Announced last week, the new facility will help assess the gender gap and disparities in this sector. In effect, the funds will finance “a gender gap survey of several West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) strategies," including those related to “financial inclusion, gender-disaggregated data analysis, digital payment services and infrastructure, and digital identity.”

The project aims to raise to 35% women’s participation in the digital financial market’s operations in the region concerned. This, in a context where this sector records some disparities between men and women. 

The program will be carried out by the WAMA, over three years. It should impact up to 350 million people across all 15 ECOWAS member States. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi