Sectors that are most clobbered by Covid-19 will benefit from tax breaks. Adopted on July 30, these tax breaks are part of amendments to the 2020 finance law.

In effect, transport, hotels, restaurants, and all other accredited entities that operate in the tourism industry will benefit from a 25% reduction on the advance payment for a patent. Another measure concerns one-man businesses that pay the single business tax: that includes haulers, craftsmen, and others. They will benefit from a 50% reduction in the second installment of this tax.

It should be highlighted that the amended law was enacted by President Faure Gnassingbé per the rule enabling him to legislate by ordinance during a state of emergency.

Séna Akoda

To further tackle Covid-19, Togo will get from the African Development Bank (AfDB) €24.64 million. The provision of the facility, budget support, was recently approved by AfDB’s board after it was announced last June. 

The facility breaks down into a loan (€7.34 million), a grant (€6.17 million), and another loan (€11.12 million) provided under AfDB’s Transition Support Facility (first pillar). The latter was established to address fragility and building resilience in Africa.

The funds will help Togo to boost economic and sanitary resilience, and most importantly help it bridge the gap that resulted from the restrictive and support measures initiated by the government after the disease broke out in the country. 

Besides Togo, Benin and Guinea also received a total of €60 million from the AfDB in this same framework.

Hundred first-time entrepreneurs will benefit from an incubation program developed by Togo’s chamber of commerce and industry (CCIT). The beneficiaries will receive training at the Agbelouvé industrial site. 

Germain Mèba, chairman of the institution highlighted that this is a mentorship and support program. It will focus on industrial businesses that produce, process, and or sell agricultural or textile products. 

Incubated SMEs will have the opportunity to partner with existing processing firms. In addition to the partnerships which will foster the budding entrepreneurs’ growth, they will have better access to loans from institutions such as the MIFA, African Lease Togo, and commerce chambers. 

With the money they will get, the incubated entrepreneurs will be able to finance their projects and should create in over three years, around 30,000 indirect and direct jobs, according to the CCIT. Their respective business plans are presently being finalized. 

Séna Akoda

At last, planes which have been stuck for months on the tarmac of the Airport of Lomé due to anti-Covid 19 measures will be allowed to take off again, as of August 1.

Indeed, the Togolese government released on July 30 a press statement indicating that both domestic and international flights would resume. “Measures have been taken to guarantee, for the safety of air travelers and populations, that travel conditions comply with recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA),” Lomé said.

According to the government’s press release, all passengers will be allowed to board or disembark only after filling a certain form, available on voyage.gouv.tg.

Regarding passengers traveling to Togo, excluding those in transit, they will have to take the Covid-19 PCR test (CFA40,000), payable at check-in on the above-mentioned website. They are also to set up the Togo Safe mobile app which will, among other things, enable them to define where they will self-confine. 

For more information, visit voyage.gouv.tg.

Séna Akoda

Fifty million Euros (XOF38.2 billion). That is the amount of a loan the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) just received from the French Development Agency (AFD) to support sustainable economic transition within the community. 

The financing agreement was signed between the two parties on July 28, at the EBID’s headquarters in Lomé. 

Through the facility, the EBID and the AFD are working to foster a greater economic and financial integration in the region, as well as contribute to the Ecowas vision 2030. 

According to the AFD, the loan is historical and seals its partnership with the Bank to which it had provided up till yesterday a technical assistance grant amounting to “only” XOF263 million. “This €50 million loan agreement is historical. It is the first credit line we sign and we sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a long cooperation that will enable us to support you in other sectors,” said Maréra MATAR, deputy director of AFD Togo.  

While the newly secured funds should be broadly used to finance the economic transition, concerning the Covid-19 pandemic, in detail they will according to the EBID’s president, Dr. Nana Donkor, be allocated in the power sector and help support businesses in the Ecowas. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Two Togolese, Kako Nubukpo, and Pascal Agboyibor were featured in Jeune Afrique’s recent top 100 most influential Africans. 

The first, Prof. Nubukpo, is the dean of the Faculty of economics and management at the University of Lomé and a former Togolese minister of planning. The scholar who ranked 53rd on the media’s index is well-known by the press for his views on the CFA. In West Africa, he is among the most heard figures to discuss monetary reforms, especially those concerning the CFA which for many is a relic of colonial times that must be discarded or reinvented. 

"I would like to thank Jeune Afrique for listing me as one of Africa’s 100 most influential figures," Nubukpo tweeted after the rankings were released. 

The second Togolese featured on the list is Pascal Agboyibor, a business lawyer who worked at Orrick and currently heads the Asafo & Co firm whose activities focus on Africa. Gécamines is one of the firm’s many important clients. It is worth noting that the lawyer who was ranked second best out of 100 business law leaders in Africa is the son of the late Yaovi Agboyibor, Togo’s first Prime Minister. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

For the second time, Togo will try to raise FCFA70 billion by issuing covid-19 bonds on the regional financial market. This is after garnering FCFA108 billion by recently issuing the same bonds. 

The proceeds of the new issuance will fill the gap in public treasury caused by the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The issuance of the bonds -fungible treasury bonds- which have a nominal value of FCFA1 million should close on August 13, 2020.  

Just like for the first operation, the securities will mature over three months. They will thus start gaining value on August 14, 2020, and reach maturity on November 12. 

Repayment will begin on the first workday after the maturity date. Meanwhile, due interests will be discounted on the face value of the bonds. 

Across the WAEMU, the bond issuance is set to begin on July 28, 2020, with an expected XOF721 billion to be raised. 

Séna Akoda