A delegation from the Swiss firm Global Synergy Africa (GLOSYA) met with officials from the Togolese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT), last Tuesday. This was revealed on the government’s official website. 

On this occasion, the Swiss delegation said it was looking to invest and enter various African markets, including Togo. On the other side, Germain Meba, president of the CCIT, told the Helvetic group about Togo’s investment potential (agribusiness, car mechanics, etc.) ambitions falling under its national development plan.  

Founded by a group of Swiss and African entrepreneurs, GLOSYA operates in infrastructure, health, education, among others. It develops projects and handles training and management activities.

The Francophone Africa maritime cluster (CMAF) signed with France’s maritime cluster a partnership agreement on January 14, 2020, in Abidjan. The document was signed by the respective heads of the two parties, Togolese Charles Kokouvi Gafan, and Frédéric Moncany. 

“The partnership agreement,” according to Gafan, “will boost actions between the two organizations and make them closer. It will also pave the way for future cooperation in Francophone Africa, between political authorities, port administrations, and businesses.” The convention will help boost intra-regional trade and defend concerned actors’ interests, CMAF’s chief adds. 

Let’s recall that CMAF’s purpose is to support the growth of economic operators in the maritime sector, as well as that of landlocked countries depending on maritime transactions. 

Séna Akoda

NSIA Group eyes a spot in the Top 5 best financial services of Togo. The firm operates in the country through its subsidiaries, NSIA Assurances, and NSIA Banque. 

The group has the same goal in the four other countries where it operates, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Guinea Conakry, and Senegal. 

In terms of growth, “the next step for NSIA Banque is to reinforce its footprint in the five countries where it is established, in addition to expanding to countries with a strong culture of insurance,” said Janine Kacou Diagou, Managing Director of NSIA Group. She wishes to “actively contribute to boosting banking rates in West and Central Africa, as this will drive financial inclusion.”  

Let’s recall that, as part of its strategy to grow its presence in Togo, NSIA has acquired Diamond Bank’s local unit. There, it currently operates in the finance and bancassurance sectors. 

Séna Akoda

WeLight, the joint venture of Axian Group and Sagemcom, eyes three West African markets, in line with its expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Indeed, the JV which invests in rural electrification could soon enter Togo, Burkina Faso, and Niger. 

“For economy-scaling purposes, we wish to develop around 50 projects per country and we are currently considering Burkina Faso, Togo, and Niger,” says Laurent Roineau, deputy managing director of WeLight. 

The executive disclosed the information in a recent communiqué where the JV announces its partnership with Norfund, the Norwegian investment fund.

Let’s indicate that Axian Group currently operates in Togo via Togocom. Indeed, with Emerging Capital Partners, it is part of the Agou Holding which acquired from the Togolese State its 51% stake in the telecom operator. 

Apart from telecoms and energy, Axian also operates in real estate, finance, and the innovation sectors. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In 2018, Togo was Benin’s second-biggest electricity supplier behind Nigeria. 

According to a report of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), 6.3% of Benin’s imports came from Togo, mostly electricity provided through Communauté Electrique du Bénin. From Nigeria which supplies a quarter of its imports, Benin gets petroleum products. 

Besides being Benin’s second-biggest supplier of electricity, Togo was its main provider (52.9%), regarding direct investment flows, over the year reviewed. Following Togo were China (36.2%), Senegal (12.2%), and Nigeria (8.2%). Most of these investment flows were debts (XOF111.2 billion). 

From Benin, Togo imports frozen fish, petroleum products, drugs, and paint. It is its third buyer in the WAEMU. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

GTA Assurances Vie and Coris Bank Togo entered a partnership to sell and manage a new bancassurance product called Coris Protect.  

The related agreement was signed by the respective heads of the companies, Claude Daté Gbikpi and Alassane Kabore.

Coris Protect, according to a statement released by the firms, should enable bank customers be better prepared in the event of an accident, total or permanent disability due to a disease or an accident, or death regardless of the cause. 

In the first case (accidents), Coris Protect covers medical fees. In the second (permanent disability), the beneficiary gets financial support plus a payment equivalent to wages perceived over the six months preceding the incident (with a cap of XOF2.5 million). Last, in the event of death, the new product covers funeral benefits. 

Coris Protect also allows the client to guarantee his beneficiaries a lump sum in the event of death or permanent disability, for a monthly premium of 1,000 FCFA.

Séna Akoda

In 2019, exactly 11,482 new businesses were registered at Togo’s Centre for Business Formalities (CFE) - a figure that is very close to the peak recorded in 2015. According to the CFE, this is about 9% more than the number recorded the year before that.

In detail, more than 67% of the new businesses (7,844) were created by individuals; this reflects a low level of association between Togolese entrepreneurs. 

Over the year reviewed, 3,156 LLCs were created. Out of these, 86% were without resorting to a notary - a feat that is attributable to a reform approved by the World Bank in 2019.   

It appears that 80% of the newly registered firms are owned by Togolese citizens. Meanwhile, the rest (2,349) belong to foreigners. While local businesses dominate the entrepreneurial industry, it must be emphasized that the number of new businesses launched by foreigners is 22% more than that recorded in 2018.

The increase is driven by the new government-led reforms to improve Togo’s business climate. These reforms, in fact, enabled the country to stand at the 15th place in the 2020 Doing Business’ “Starting a business” index. This represents a 40 ranks rise compared to 2019.

The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has secured $33 million from the German development bank, KfW. The facility will mostly be used to back small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the continent. 

The fund indeed declares that the monies should “bolster its efforts - in line with its mission - to help African SMEs to keep playing an important part in the growth of African economies, by spurring financial inclusion especially.” 

Let’s indicate that the AGF, at the continental level, wants to provide financial guarantees to more than 10,000 SMEs, yearly. In West Africa particularly, the institution targets 2,000 SMEs, per year on average, per country. 

So far, guarantees provided by the fund for African SMEs amount to nearly $1.7 billion. About 20,000 SMEs benefited from this support - 60% of which are held by youths, while 30% are by women. 

In Togo, the AGF, whose West African division is based in Lomé, signed a deal with the Risk-based Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (MIFA S.A), last July. Under the agreement, the AGF will guarantee 50% of funds needed for projects submitted by MIFA S.A to its partners. The two parties, MIFA and AGF, also work on financial tools more suited to Togo’s agricultural sector. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi