From next April 24 and 26, Lomé will host the West Africa Fertilizer Forum.

The event will gather major actors and all parties interested in the West African fertilizer industry, according to the Africa Fertilizer initiative, which will organize it in partnership with the Regional Fertilizer Professionals Association.

More than 200 participants from 38 countries are expected at the forum ; producers, developers and investors.

In Togo, firms like CECO Group, CIAT Sarl, and ETG Togo SA (Export Trading Group) operate in the fertilizer industry. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

There are no e-money institutions in Togo, unlike Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. This was revealed in a report on these institutions released by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) at the end of December 2018.

Just like Togo, Guinea-Bissau and Niger also have no e-money institutions but rather focus on partnerships between banks and telecom operators active in the mobile money segment.

In Togo, Moov Etisalat, whose mobile money offer was baptized Flooz, is the operator that entered the most partnerships with banks. The banks backing the operator are Banque Atlantique, Orabank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, and Diamond Bank (now NSIA BANQUE)

With TMoney, public operator Togo Cellulaire partnered with Banque Togolaise pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BTCI).

All these partnerships aim at boosting financial inclusion and allowing individuals with no bank accounts in Togo to rapidly have access to banking services.

Séna Akoda

Oragroup will be listed on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) next April 16. The bank indeed received the approval of the regional council or public savings and financial markets (CREPMF) for the operation.

The listing, which covers 20% of the lender’s capital (floating) will take place a few months after its IPO which occured between October and November 2018.

The IPO, it should be recalled was fully subscribed and helped raise more than XOF56 billion; it actually is the largest IPO ever recorded on the BRVM.

Out of the remaining 80% of the capital, more than 50% are held by Emerging Capital Partners (ECP).

At the end of 2017, the total balance sheet of Orabank expanded 45%, from 2014, standing at €2.72 billion (XOF1,794 billion). Over the same period, its net banking product rose by 33%, to reach €164 million (XOF108 billion).

The holding let’s recall is present in 12 countries, in both West and Central Africa, and has its headquarters in Togo. With more than 139 agencies and 1,811 workers, it operates in four distinct monetary zones (WAEMU, CEMAC, Guinea and Mauritania).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In 2017, there were 38.13 million mobile money transactions in Togo. This figure which is almost twice that recorded in 2016 corresponded to an amount of XOF394.3 billion in 2017, against XOF263.1 billion the year before.

The data was disclosed in the BCEAO’s latest annual report on digital financial services across the WAEMU.

The rise in the number of transactions translates an increase in the number of mobile money subscribers, from 1.44 million in 2016 to 2.98 million in 2017.

Compared to 2014, the surge is even more substantial since that year the transactions amounted to only XOF5 billion.

In the WAEMU, Côte d’Ivoire has the highest rate of mobile money transactions, capturing 37.9% of all transactions recorded in the union, against a 5.92% share only for Togo.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

From over 80% at end-2016, Togo’s public debt was below 70% at the end of March 2019. This was declared by Sani Yaya, minister of economy and finances last Tuesday during a meeting to review a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the fourth extended credit facility (ECF) review.

The decrease results from efforts made by the government to cut down public debt. Indeed, “the major budgetary effort started in 2017 was prolonged to September 2018,” the mission said, adding that while results lowered near the end of the year, this was due to “lower revenues than expected and higher expenses.” Beside this, “structural budgetary reforms and other reform programs are moving on well.”

Let it be however noted that between December 2017 and December 2018, Togo’s external debt rose slightly from 19.9% of its GDP to 20.5%. Meanwhile, internal debt slumped from 58.8% to 56.7% over the same period.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s growth rate could slightly exceed 5% in 2019. The figure was revealed during a press conference held April 2, 2019 and closing of the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) present in Lomé since March 20, to review the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

“After a strong slump in 2017 caused by sociopolitical tensions, economic growth hiked up to 4.9% in 2018,” said the mission chief, Ivohasina Razafimahefa.

The mission expects the country’s average economic annual growth rate to stand at 5.5%, spurred by a better business climate and good public infrastructures, added to a greater commitment of the private sector which drives this growth.

The IMF also lauded the “substantial budgetary effort initiated in 2017,” and extended in 2018. Togo has in these two years met WAEMU’s deficit criteria which is 3% of GDP.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s chamber of industry and commerce will take all the necessary steps for the seamless contribution of the country’s private sector to the success of Togo-EU economic forum. This major support from the private sector was announced by Germain Méba, president of the chamber.

To sensitize operators and explain the reasons economic operators should attend this event, the chamber recently organized meetings with the private sector all over the country.

100 economic operators from Togo and the same number from Europe are expected for this first edition of the forum. By the way, a call for proposals has been issued via the website togoforum-ue.tg dedicated to the event. This call is aimed at selecting 100 bankable projects that could capture investments during the forum, which should be hosted on June 13-14, 2019.   

Togolese economic operators willing to take part in this economic meeting must register themselves via the event’s website: www.forumtogo-ue.tg .

Séna Akoda