Lomé-based Pan-African airline Asky has resumed flights from Lomé, Togo, to Pointe Noire, Congo, through Luanda, Angola. A ceremony was held on October 2 to celebrate the resumption. 

On this route, Asky will operate three flights weekly–Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

The flights had been halted for four years due to a lack of passengers. With the reopening, Asky has only one destination left to reach its goal of serving about 30 destinations in West and Central Africa.

The reopening should also translate into higher traffic for Lomé’s airport, contributing to the facility’s ambition of having 1.5 million passengers by 2025.

Asky received a new aircraft on October 1, 2024, to replace its oldest plane as part of its modernization and expansion plan. Under this plan, the carrier should acquire two new planes every year and expand to two new destinations.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

It is now possible to request proof of payment for the regulatory fee related to public procurement in Togo. On October 1, the sector’s regulator, the ARCOP, launched PASSE, a digital platform enabling this service.

On this platform, proofs are generated automatically once an application is submitted. The document can be obtained within 72 hours.

With this move, ARCOP is taking a significant step in its efforts to improve accessibility and follows other government agencies that are also digitizing their services. The goal is to digitize 75% of administrative procedures by 2025.

Several state entities, including the Port of Lomé, the Tax Office, and various ministries, already kicked off the transition.

Esaïe Edoh

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has a new representative in Togo: Riswana Soundardjee. She introduced herself to Togolese Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe on October 2, 2024, alongside her predecessor, Demba Diack.

"I have had this responsibility for the past two and a half years. It's time for me to hand over responsibility to my colleague, who will be the new country manager," said Demba Diack.

During the meeting, past and future projects between Togo and GAVI were reviewed, especially regarding malaria control. Riswana Soundardjee expressed her commitment to continuing immunization efforts, especially for children.

GAVI supports various vaccination programs in Togo. From 2021 to 2025, Togo has received $27.2 million for vaccine support, $16.1 million for vaccine campaigns (including hepatitis and HPV), and $4.06 million for technical assistance.

Although vaccination coverage is relatively high in Togo, it has stagnated recently. DTP1 (diphtheria-tetanus-polio) coverage has remained stable between 87% and 90%, while measles and rubella coverage has fluctuated between 69% and 77%, according to the Ministry of Health.

One major area of future collaboration will be the introduction of new vaccines, including those for HPV and malaria.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

A project to modernize palm processing in Momé Katihoé, a village in Vo, Southern Togo. The project received CFA60.4 million under the WACA ResIP coastal resilience program. 

Modernizing Production

"In the past, kneading palm nuts was extremely difficult. We sometimes did it with our feet or in mortars, which made the work tedious," explains Soutoji Komlan, president of the Development Committee of Momé Katihoé. 

The newly launched project was submitted to WACA by the community. A modern processing unit has been built under the initiative. The facility has mixers, motorized extractors, and a palm kernel oil press. "With this new equipment, work is easier and our women's living conditions have improved considerably," said Komlan.

"Making palm oil used to take us very long, at least a week. With this equipment, we can now produce many 25-liter jerrycans, in just a day," said Dodjomè Adjovi Reine, one of the project's beneficiaries. The project has even allowed the beneficiaries to open an account with a local microfinance institution.

Developing the Village

The sub-project also addressed energy needs since electricity was required to operate the equipment. It also involved wood-energy plantations to combat wood shortages. The community started with 3.5 hectares of reforestation and has expanded to 25 hectares.

Oboubé Donou, president of the women's processing cooperative, expects a borehole to be completed soon. That is one of WACA's final tasks in the area.

Becoming a Role Model

Dr. Adou Rahim Alimi Assimiou, national coordinator of WACA in Togo, considers Momé Katihoé an exemplary community. "Through this sub-project, the community has achieved remarkable things that cannot be compared to others," he stated. The initiative benefits not only Momé Katihoé but also nearby villages.

Despite some remaining work like fencing and building a borehole, WACA's leadership in Togo believes the project has already positively impacted the lives of palm nut processors in the village.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo lost its crown as Gabon’s top supplier in Q2 2024. It fell to the fourth position, with exports plunging by 57.9% compared to Q1 2024. The news was reported by Le Nouveau Gabon, quoting data from Gabon's Directorate General of Customs. 

Over the quarter reviewed, Gabon's imports from its top 10 suppliers decreased by 7.0% quarter-on-quarter.

With the drop, Togo’s market share shrunk to 10%, placing it behind France, China, and Belgium. However, Togo remains the only African country among Gabon’s top 10 suppliers.

Togo mostly exports petroleum products to Gabon, or re-export since it does not produce oil. In 2021, Togo sold CFA41.6 billion worth of goods to Gabon, primarily from the oil sector.

It is worth noting that exports from Togo to Gabon increased substantially (+195.8%) between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024. At the time, Togo was Gabon’s top supplier. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo raised CFA10.5 billion on the WAEMU Market last Monday, Sept. 30. Lomé was CFA4.5 billion short on its target for the operation–a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bills (BATs) and fungible treasury bonds (OATs). 

The operation report indicates that CFA8.2 billion was secured via the BATs. The securities mature over 182 and 364 days at a variable interest rate. The remaining CFA2.3 billion was secured via OATs, which have an annual interest rate of 6.15%. 

While CFA10.5 billion was retained, investors mobilized CFA18 billion for the operation. This is CFA3 billion more than the amount initially targeted.

Including this latest operation, Togo has raised CFA631 billion on the regional money market this year. The funds will help finance the country's budget for the fiscal year 2024, which balances resources and expenses at CFA2,179 billion.

Esaïe Edoh

The number of mobile users in Togo was 7.3 million by the end of March 2024, up 9% year-on-year. The country’s telecom watchdog, ARCEP, disclosed the figure based on its latest customer satisfaction survey. 

In detail, Togo Cellulaire had 4.37 million users (60% of the total), and Moov Africa Togo had 2.91 million users (40%). 

Over the period reviewed, both operators totaled 3.55 million Mobile Money users. Togo Cellulaire had 2.16 million with its Tmoney service and Moov Africa Togo had 1.4 million via Flooz. 

The ARCEP survey covered over 15,000 respondents. It revealed that most “MoMo” users (89%) used the service for credit top-ups, bill payments (86%), and financial transactions (81%).

While the growth is laudable, some challenges impede the increase in the number of MoMo users. According to the ARCEP report, these include the high cost of transaction (according to 81% of the surveyed) and the lack of interoperability between Tmoney and Flooz (75%). Half of the mobile users, across both operators, also have trust and security issues. They also complained about low monthly limits that can only be passed by requesting an account extension.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Between October 2023 and July 2024, Togo earned CFA4.8 billion in non-tax revenues from the maritime sector. The Single Desk for Maritime-Sector-related Royalties and Non-Tax Revenues (GRM) secured the monies. The Minister of Economy and Finance recently disclosed the figure in a report on reforms covering H1 2024. 

It is worth noting that the GRM has been partially operational since its launch in October 2023. The desk was launched as part of reforms to make the logistics sector more competitive. 

This desk operates like the foreign trade counter (SEGUCE) established in 2014. It has three main goals: serving as a single payment point, ensuring effective collection of fees and fines, and facilitating analysis of port performance.

The one-stop shop has streamlined various authorization requests, including those for secure vessel shelter, transshipment operations at sea, vessel exits after transshipment, armed guarding, and fishing licenses. Since it launched, the GRM also tracked all harbor operations, including the transshipment of over 505 million barrels of oil and gas in Togolese waters.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo launched last week a new initiative to support and empower people with disabilities. The program, AVANCE-Togo, was kicked off on September 27, in Lomé, by the Togolese Federation for Disabled People (FETAPH). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) backs AVANCE-Togo with $1.5 million (about CFA800 million).  

AVANCE-Togo aims to improve the inclusion and resilience of people with disabilities, especially women and young people. It will focus on making public infrastructure accessible, promoting training and decent jobs, and enhancing the management of humanitarian emergencies, as well as improving access to water and sanitation. The program should benefit 1,775 disabled individuals, over half of whom are women, across all regions of Togo.

Akakpo-Numado Enyonam, Chairman of the FETAPH Board of Directors, stated that the project's success depends on strong collaboration among all stakeholders. For his part, Pr. Kossiwa Zinsou-Klassou, Minister of Social Action, said AVANCE-Togo aligns with sustainable development goals and aims to provide disabled people equal development opportunities.

The USAID previously backed a similar program to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on young people with disabilities.

This new initiative runs from 2024 to 2027. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi