Togo First
Togo: SouthBridge engaged in two major projects valued at more than CFA150 billion
SouthBridge Group advised Togo regarding the transfer of the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo and Adédikopé’s integrated industrial platform (PIA) to Olam and its subsidiary Arise Special Economic Zone, respectively.
According to a recent statement, the pan-African finance and investment consulting firm is a strategic partner in the two major deals.
Regarding the PIA, the agreement for the project was signed on July 8, 2020, for €200 million. Developed by Private Industrial Adétikopé (a private company), the project is owned by the State (35%) and Arise (65%).
As for the NSCT, the State plans to sell its 51% to Olam for €34.4 million (€15.3 million of equity interest in Olam and €19.1 million of net working capital).
“We are delighted with the support provided by the Southbridge Group for the implementation of these two operations at the heart of the National Development Plan and the Government's Roadmap,” said Sani Yaya, Togolese minister of economy and finance.
“Our involvement in these operations is fully in line with the Group's ambition. We intend to contribute to accelerating the emergence of Africa and Togo in this case, which are in the front line through these two transactions,” said for his part Lionel Zinsou, ex-Prime Minister of Benin and CEO and Managing Partner of SouthBridge Group.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
IFC appoints a new country representative in Togo
Ivorian Christopher Balliet Bléziri is the new country representative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Togo.
Among others, he will work to “increase the IFC’s actions in key sectors like infrastructures, agribusiness, industry, and will give particular attention to access to financing for SMEs in Togo.”
Bléziri has a “solid experience in the structuring of investment projects and complex financial arrangements in the infrastructure structure.” The senior executive previously worked at Dexia Crédit Local (a French company) and the West African Development Bank (in the structured financing and infrastructure department).
Over the past 10 years, the IFC has invested more than $600 million in Togo, notably in the energy, finance, cement, logistics and health sectors.
It officially opened its offices in Lomé last year.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Over half of the AfDB’s investments in ECOWAS are dedicated to energy and transport projects
More than 50% of the investments made by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in West Africa were dedicated to transport and energy.
About $1.6 billion was invested in the transport sector by the institution, across ECOWAS, while over $9.6 million was spent on projects aimed at boosting access to energy in the region.
The figures were disclosed last week during a virtual meeting during which the Abidjan-based Bank launched its West Africa Regional Integration Strategy.
In August 2017, the AfDB approved a grant of $975,000 to start the CIZO project, which is a rural electrification project where populations are supplied Pay-As-You-Go solar kits.
The lender also provided CFA56 billion to support the rehabilitation of the Atakpamé-Blitta (on the Lomé-Cinkassé corridor).
In the next five years, the AfDB plans to inject $4.94 billion in ECOWAS. The monies will be spent on 35 projects in areas ranging from transport and infrastructure to energy access and climate resilience; all to support West African integration.
Séna Akoda
Three Indian power developers build a transmission line in northern Togo
The construction of the 161kV transmission line in northern Togo has officially started. It was launched on December 3, 2020, by the minister of energy and mines, in Kara.
The works include engineering, supplying energy to and laying the line over 240km. Also, there will be multiple transmission stations connecting the following areas: Kara, Mango, Dapaong, Naki, and Mandouri.
Financed by Exim Bank of India ($52 million), the project will be executed by three Indian power developers - KEC International, Transrail Lighting, and Techno Electric & Engineering. The first of these three is the second largest manufacturer of power transmission towers, in India, and one of the biggest engineering, supply and power transmission companies in the world.
The project should be completed within 20 months. It will boost access to power in the northern part of Togo and significantly contribute to the country's goal to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.
Ecobank snatches Bank of the Year title from Orabank
Ecobank-Togo was awarded the Banker’s Bank of the Year title for 2020. The awards ceremony was held online on December 2, 2020.
The pan-African lender owes its achievement to multiple initiatives such as updating its main banking application, fighting Covid-19, canceling or reducing charges on some transfers, or the increase in limits for daily transactions via mobile banking services.
The bank also eased up its loan reimbursement conditions, for clients experiencing financial difficulties, revived its online banking platform (now called Ecobank Online), migrated to Omni Lite for commercial banking, and to Omni for business and investment banking.
Ecobank thus dethroned Orabank, its rival in Togo. It should be noted that it is not only the Bank of the Year in Togo but also in Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Conakry, and Guinea Bissau, according to The Banker.
Meanwhile, Orabank secured the title in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal.
Séna Akoda
Tourism: Kamina site to soon be rehabilitated
A feasibility study is underway to rehabilitate the Kamina site (20km from Atakpamé), a vestige of colonial history and tourist heritage. The study will define the financing mechanisms necessary for rehabilitation.
This project is one of many similar projects initiated by the country in recent years to valorize its cultural and touristic heritage. All these projects fall under the second axis of Togo’s 2020-2025 development roadmap.
Progress made on the rehabilitation project was evaluated by the minister of tourism, Kossi Lamadokou, who toured the Plateaux region where the Kamina site and the Roc Hotel (in Atakpamé) are located.
Kamina was a former German military base, housing a powerful transcontinental radio station, and a wireless telegraphy transmitter center with direct links to Berlin, the Namibian colony, and the German fleet in the Atlantic. The site was dynamited by the army before its surrender in August 1914, during one of the first confrontations of World War I.
State to resume quality controls for sachet and bottled water produced by private businesses
Starting from December 15, 2020, quality controls for private producers of drinking water (in a sachet or bottled) will resume.
The news was disclosed by the ministry of water and rural hydraulics which added that the inter-ministerial committee in charge of the controls will restart activities at the set date.
The resumption comes in a context where “production and marketing of these water products by private actors are subject to prior approval by the ministry, which ensures that they are fit for human consumption.”
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
ECOWAS: AfDB to invest $5 billion in integration projects
Over the next five years, the African Development Bank (AfDB) plans to inject around five billion dollars in integration projects across the ECOWAS.
In effect, on November 26, 2020, as it launched its West Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper 2020-2025, the Abidjan-based Bank said it would heavily invest in the development of transport and technology infrastructures.
The strategy focuses on diversity and opportunities the region presents but also highlights its socio-economic challenges.
Through this strategy, the Bank mainly aims to boost the resilience of cross-border infrastructures, support the growth of businesses in the region, and foster intra-regional trade as well as financial integration in West Africa.
“It is time to develop the major road and rail corridors at a time when the level of intra-African trade totals only 13%,” said Pathé Gueye, Commissioner in charge of Infrastructures at the Ecowas Commission. He also underlined the current health crisis, issues related to the adoption of a single currency, as well as security issues and fragility in some ECOWAS countries.
Séna Akoda
In 2017, the extractive sector generated CFA13 billion for the State
In 2017, all 23 companies active in Togo’s extractive industry generated around CFA13.2 billion for the State. 86% of the sum came from mines (around 75%) and quarries (12%) and were allocated to the national budget. The rest (around 14%) came from the exploitation of groundwaters (6.7%), gold sales (6.5%), and artisanal mining (which represented 0.1% of budget revenues.
The figures were disclosed in the presentation of the report on Togo’s initiative for transparency in extractive industries (ITIE-Togo) in 2017. The document, which is being validated, was presented on November 30, 2020, during the 35th ordinary meeting of the committee steering the initiative.
On this occasion, the committee concluded that “overall, Togo has made significant progress in the implementation of the ITIE Norm.”
“Mining contracts have been published in Togo, as well as the operating permits of mining companies, which are available on the websites of the General Directorate of Mines and Geology (...). Generally speaking, the companies have declared their real shareholders,” said Didier Kokou Agbemadon, national coordinator of ITIE-Togo.
Moreover, “companies have published their financial statements, especially crown corporations.”
The report was presented to the minister of energy and mines, Mila Aziable, who opened the meeting. She used the opportunity to reiterate the government’s commitment to clean up the sector and “ensure together that the ITIE becomes a model for the good management of the extractive sector, and the management of the State’s finances.”
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo to ratify the Bangui Agreement to better protect inventions and creations
On November 30, 2020, Togo received the green light to ratify the Bangui agreement on the creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization (AIPO).
According to the national assembly, the document is “a legal tool that enables Togo to better protect inventions and creations, and to efficiently fight counterfeiting, especially that of pharmaceutical products.”
Meanwhile, the minister of trade, industry, and local consumption, Kodjo Sévon-Tépé ADEDZE, said the permission to ratify the agreement will help achieve the second axis of the country’s 2025 strategic vision. The latter mainly aims to boost job creation by tapping into the economy’s strengths. The official added that this axis directly aligns with Togo’s ambition to attract investors.
Besides Togo, 16 other countries adhere to the AIPO, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, the Union of Comoros.
Séna Akoda