• Communes are encouraged to improve local resource management amid rising state funding.
• The FACT fund grew from CFA2.63 billion in 2020 to CFA9.5 billion in 2025.
• The initiative supports decentralization and local development efforts.

Togolese communes have been urged to strengthen the mobilization and management of local resources as state funding for municipalities continues to increase under the country’s decentralization and governance reform agenda.

The call was made during the first National Day of Togolese Communes (JNCT), opened on November 5, 2025, in Lomé. Discussions focused on resource mobilization and strategies to help local authorities fully play their role as drivers of local development.

According to Minister of Territorial Administration Hodabalo Awaté, the Local Authorities Support Fund (FACT)—the main financing mechanism for the decentralization process—has grown steadily since 2020. Initially endowed with CFA2.63 billion, the fund now totals CFA9.5 billion in 2025. Its resources have financed essential infrastructure, including health, education, road, and water projects, while helping reduce territorial disparities.

The Faîtière des Communes du Togo (FCT), organizer of the event with support from German cooperation (GIZ/ProDeG IV) and the French Embassy, also called for stronger mobilization of both domestic and external financing.

According to FCT President Yawa Kouigan, fiscal decentralization remains key to enabling communes to implement local development plans and achieve Sustainable Development Goals related to urban governance and resilience.

Around 300 participants from Togo and other African countries attended this first edition of the JNCT.

To enhance the competitiveness of crop value chains, Togo is developing technical and economic tools to guide investments, optimize production, and improve the sustainability of agro-industrial value chains.

The Agency for the Development of Very Small, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ADTPME) has launched a call for expressions of interest to recruit an expert to develop these benchmarks for crop production.

The initiative is part of the Youth Entrepreneurs Support Project for Value Chains (PAJEC), financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the YEI MDTF Trust Fund.

Based in Lomé, the selected expert will assist ADTPME in identifying high-potential value chains, mapping employment opportunities, and proposing development plans for agro-industrial clusters, particularly benefiting young people and women.

These benchmarks are expected to improve economic planning, facilitate access to finance for agricultural MSMEs, and strengthen the sector’s overall competitiveness.

Applications are open until November 17, 2025.

The European Union (EU) delegation in Togo has provided new equipment to support civilians in the country’s northern region, which continues to face terrorist threats. In late October 2025, the EU delivered equipment worth about 115 million CFA francs to the Emergency Program for the Savanes Region (PURS) and to the country’s defense and security forces.

The shipment, procured through a global program run in partnership with the United Nations, includes computers, educational materials, and about 60 mine detectors. The equipment complements earlier training and awareness campaigns aimed at protecting communities from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by armed groups.

This new aid builds on the EU’s ongoing support for the government’s PURS initiative, which the bloc has backed since 2022. The program aims to strengthen community resilience across key sectors such as health, water, energy, education, and agriculture.

In 2022, the EU and Germany jointly contributed €5 million (over 3 billion CFA francs) to PURS, funding projects to improve living conditions in affected communities.

More recently, the EU selected Togo as one of four West African coastal countries,  along with Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana,  to receive a new €10 million financial package to help manage rising migration pressures stemming from conflicts destabilizing the central Sahel region.

Togo’s Ministry of Energy and Mines has launched a program to gradually digitize its administrative processes, aiming to streamline services and improve efficiency. The digital transformation initiative was officially launched in Lomé on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

The pilot phase targets 31 services across five agencies overseen by the ministry, including the Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER), and the Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARSE). The goal is to make public services more accessible and efficient for citizens.

According to officials from the Ministries of Public Service Efficiency and Energy, digitalization will enhance productivity by replacing manual procedures with digital tools, saving time and reducing costs. This will be achieved by eliminating paper processes and enabling cloud-based data access.

Telecom operator Yas will provide connectivity and deploy collaborative tools such as an intranet and internal messaging systems. The Togo Digital Agency (ATD) will digitize public-facing services for online access, while Cyber Defense Africa (CDA) will secure the networks and applications.

Cina Lawson, Minister of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation, said the effort is primarily about improving efficiency. “Interacting with the state can be challenging for citizens,” she noted, “and our goal is to simplify procedures and make interactions with the government more efficient and user-friendly.”

Deputy Energy Minister Robert Koffi Messan Eklo added: “If we don’t have digital tools suited to our needs to deliver services to citizens, the work won’t be properly done.”

This initiative aligns with the government’s broader strategy to digitize 75% of public services by the end of 2025. Following the Energy Ministry, three additional ministries will transition to digital operations each month starting in January.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo is working to boost the competitiveness of its crop sectors by developing technical and economic tools to guide investment, improve productivity, and strengthen agro-industrial value chains.

As part of this effort, the Agency for the Development of Very Small, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ADTPME) has issued a call for applications to recruit a consultant. The expert will develop technical and economic guidelines for key crop sectors.

The recruitment is part of the Project to Support Young Entrepreneurs in Value Chains (PAJEC), financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Youth Employment Initiative Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF).

Based in Lomé, the consultant will help the ADTPME identify high-potential sectors, map key occupations, and design development plans for agro-industrial clusters, with a focus on young people and women.

The resulting guidelines are expected to improve economic planning, ease access to financing for agricultural MSMEs, and boost the overall competitiveness of the sector. Applications for the consultancy are due by November 17, 2025.

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A Tunisian economic and trade delegation is scheduled to visit Togo from Dec. 2 to 6, 2025, coinciding with the 20th edition of the Lomé International Fair.

Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunis (CCI Tunis) in partnership with the Togo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the visit aims to strengthen economic cooperation between the two nations and boost South-South trade.

The mission’s program includes business-to-business (B2B) meetings between Tunisian and Togolese economic operators to explore partnership opportunities in commerce, industry, digitalization, and innovation. The Tunisian companies are also expected to participate in "Togo Day," a focused event dedicated to new African entrepreneurial dynamics.

Furthermore, the delegation plans visits to the Port of Lomé and the Adétikopé Industrial Platform to give participants a firsthand understanding of the country's logistical and industrial capabilities.

The Lomé International Fair, which hosts the economic mission, runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14, 2025. With China designated as the guest of honor, the event expects over 1,300 exhibitors and approximately 700,000 visitors from the sub-region and beyond.

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Kara is hosting a regional training workshop this week for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), running until November 7. The workshop is organized by the Ministry of Investment Promotion, Industry, and Economic Sovereignty.

The event is part of the Project to Support Investment Promotion and Public-Private Partnership Development (PAPIDPPP). It aims to equip local entrepreneurs,  including artisans, traders, women business owners, company heads, and young startup founders,  with practical tools to structure their businesses, improve competitiveness, and access financing.

Training sessions cover areas such as business creation and management, marketing, basic accounting, and the use of digital tools to increase business visibility. The program seeks to strengthen local entrepreneurship and build a more dynamic private sector, considered vital to the country’s economic and social development.

The initiative is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Transition Support Facility.

Togo has launched a project to upgrade power grids in six major cities ,  Aného, Atakpamé, Kpalimé, Kara, Sokodé, and Dapaong ,  the Ministry of Energy announced recently.

The project is financed through a 6 billion CFA franc loan from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). It involves rehabilitating 61 kilometers of medium-voltage lines, installing 61 new transformer stations, and laying 234 kilometers of low-voltage lines. The ministry estimates the upgrades will connect about 10,000 households and small businesses across the six municipalities.

The initiative aims to strengthen Togo’s aging electricity network, which has struggled to keep pace with population growth. Rapid urban expansion in recent years has often caused voltage drops and frequent power outages.

Through this project, Togo is advancing its national strategy for universal access to electricity by 2030, with an interim goal of achieving 75% national coverage by the end of 2025.

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé will host the United Kingdom-West and Central Francophone Africa (UK-WCAF) Trade and Investment Forum from November 12 to 13. The event is expected to bring together more than 600 participants, including public officials, investors, and business leaders from across the region.

The forum is jointly organized by the Togolese government, the UK Department for Business and Trade (formerly the Department for International Trade), and partners such as UK Export Finance and DMA Invest.

Talks will focus on investment opportunities, business partnerships, and financing tools to boost economic cooperation between the UK and Francophone countries in West and Central Africa. Participants will also review national economic priorities and ongoing reforms to strengthen investment attractiveness.

The event comes as Togo steps up efforts to improve its business environment and attract foreign direct investment. For Lomé, the forum offers a major opportunity to highlight its logistical and commercial strengths, including its deep-water port and recent tax reforms, in a bid to expand partnerships with British investors.

Environmental authorities and partners in Lomé launched a workshop on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, to adopt a national action plan for managing plastic products and waste. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Environment, aims to establish a framework to address the severe health and environmental impacts of plastic use in Togo.

Official estimates show that more than two million plastic sachets are discarded daily across the country, while recycling remains minimal. This massive volume of unmanaged waste worsens soil and water pollution, increasing public exposure to environmental risks.

Meba Toyi, an environmental lawyer and head of the Climate Change Control division at the Directorate of the Environment, said the main challenge is adapting the legal framework to match the scale of pollution. An ongoing national inventory aims to measure how much plastic is produced and sent to landfills to better inform public policy.

Togo has gradually strengthened its plastic waste management since 2011 through several national and regional programs. The country also participates in an international project to build capacity in plastic management, supported by partners including the United Nations and USAID.

Colonel Dimizou Kofi, Secretary General of the Environment Ministry, reiterated the government’s commitment to advancing reforms toward a circular economy and a safer environment. Findings from the three-day workshop are expected Friday.

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