Last Monday in Lomé, the construction of Togo’s first data processing and business incubation center began.

Carrier Hotel is a data center that provides businesses (both big and SMEs) a space with access to electricity and a cooling system where they can store their network equipment and servers. According to Togolese authorities, the infrastructure is a tool that perfectly responds to the need to improve cybersecurity and digital sovereignty. 

“In terms of reliability, security and quality, technological choices made by carrier hotel make it one of the most performant in West Africa,”  said Cina Lawson, Togo’s minister of digital economy, during the ceremony for laying of the first stone of the hotel. The ceremony was chaired by Faure Gnassingbé.

Fully funded by the World Bank under the West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Project (WARCIP), construction works should last 15 months starting in January 2019.

About CFA12 billion (€15.3 million) will be spent in building works. They will be carried out by BTP Centro and CFAO Technologies & Energy. The French firm will handle the infrastructure, energy and environment aspects.

CFAO, let’s recall, took part in the construction of Central Africa’s biggest data center hub, inaugurated in Douala 2017, and also of West Africa’s leading data processing center based in Senegal and owned by Sonatel. About a year ago, the French company which is present in ten African countries set up in Togo, the country’s first internet exchange point (IXP), an infrastructure through which internet service providers (ISPs) exchange traffic network between their networks.

Carrier Hotel will allow businesses to house data in Togo. It is located on a 1 ha site at Lomé 2.  

Fiacre E. Kakpo

On Monday, December 3, Togo officially joined the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a multilateral institution that finances infrastructure development in Africa.

The nation is the twentieth across the whole continent to join the organization. In West Africa however, it is the twelfth and comes after Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Guinea, Chad, Cabo Verde, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire. 

“We are glad to have become a member of AFC,” said Robert Dussey, minister of foreign affairs. “Being one of the biggest organizations financing and developing infrastructures in Africa, AFC is well-positioned to help Togo achieve its investment goals, improve the quality of infrastructures and allow it to accelerate its economic growth via regional integration, for the benefit of the people,”  he added.  

Sharing the same opinion, Sani Yaya, minister of finances declared: “It is vital that we make infrastructure development a priority of our 2018-2022 national development plan (PND). We are aware of technical challenges and restrictions that we must overcome with the help of international partners such as the AFC, to successfully implement the PND.”  

Adopted last August, the new national development plan whose implementation is expected to cost more than CFA4,000 billion ($5.4 billion) greatly focuses on the development of extractive, logistics, road, energy and telecommunications infrastructures. AFC, which invests in these various sectors said it is ready to provide the West African nation with technical and financial support to implement “this ambitious program which aims to modernize the economy, infrastructures especially”. “As a leading investor in this sector in Africa, we are ready to help Togo finance and develop its infrastructures,”  promised AFC’s CEO, Samaila Zubairu.  

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Togo.tg is the new open data website launched by the Togolese government.

The portal should enable free access to data related to public institutions, ministries, public services, etc.

Commenting on the launch, Cina Lawson, minister of posts and digital economy said: “Towards its modernization, Togo proceeded to the remodeling of its digital ecosystem and developed a single institutional portal – www.togo.tg”.

“We must put in place mechanisms and measures to provide citizens access to information while making sure to set up an appropriate legal and regulatory framework,” she added.

The website was launched on the sidelines of the first open data conference ever hosted in Togo. The event was organized by the government, the US embassy, the European embassy and the UNDP.

According to the event’s organizers, open data fosters development by improving real time access to information and data needed by citizens for useful purposes.

Séna Akoda

Togo exported 15,000 metric tons (Mt) of cashew nuts during the 2018 agricultural campaign. This was disclosed by Robert Sedjro, head of cashew exporters. Compared to the previous season’s output (12,000 Mt), this year’s exports are up by about 3,000 Mt.

While the current output meets forecast announced by the N’kalo magazine, it should not hide the fact that “Togo is the least cashew producer in West Africa”. According to Sedjro, “it comes after Côte d’Ivoire (750,000 Mt), Benin (200,000 Mt), Ghana (200,000 Mt), Guinea (150,000 Mt) and Burkina (120,000 Mt)”. The official hence urged all interested in agribusiness to invest in the cashew sector. 

Let’s recall that after Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Togo has adopted a tax on cashew export which it baptized “Levy on Cashew Nut” (Prélèvement sur les noix de cajou – PNC). The tax is CFA40 per Kg on raw nuts and CFA5 on processed nuts. Its proceeds should be transferred to a special account at the Public Treasury. The account’s name is “cashew management fund in Togo”.

Séna Akoda

Marc Ably-Bidamon, Togo’s minister of energy, is the new president of the ministers’ committee steering the West African Gas Pipeline Project. The official was appointed the position last week, on the sidelines of the 18th meeting of the committee, for a one-year mandate.  

Over the period, Togo should, with its neighbors, launch initiatives to protect subsea gas pipelines and conclude talks with WAPCo regarding natural gas transportation tariffs. The talks aim to increase natural gas import for States’ benefit.

The West African Gas Pipeline Project’s purpose is to transport natural gas from Nigeria to Benin, Ghana and Togo, for power production and other industrial needs also. In fine, the project would help boost gas interconnection in West Africa.

Let it be recalled that during the committee’s recent meeting, participants reviewed the issue of gas supply and the status of the interconnection project as well as issues concerning tariff of the third tariff period that will open in January 2019 and close December 2023. Moreover, the tariff and regulation report was presented.   

On the occasion, Marc Ably-Bidamon and his Beninese counterpart discussed with Ghana’s minister of energy about urgent measures to implement relating to CEB’s reforms, in line with the instructions of Benin and Togo’s president.

Séna Akoda

Yesterday, Nov 29, the minister of trade and private sector promotion, Bernadette Legzim-Balouki, inaugurated two new reservoirs of Société Togolaise d’Entreposage (Togo’s Storage Society).

The reservoirs (tank n°5 and tank n°1) which cost two billion CFA, and meet international safety and environmental standards, have a total capacity of 4,400 m3. “They will be used to store super unleaded, the most difficult oil product to handle in a warehouse,” according to STE’s president, Hervé Longé. “With these two tanks, STE takes a great step regarding the improvement of its services. Installing those falls under a 10-renovation plan,” he added.    

The equipment will help Togo avoid shortage of oil products. In this regard, the minister believes that through the investment, STE aligns with the government’s goal to make businesses more competitive and boost employment.

 Séna Akoda

Jun Hao Mining, a mining firm holding a gold exploitation license in the Bouzalo-Alombé area, in the Tchaoudjo prefecture, in Togo’s Central region, was asked to stop all activities at the site until further notice.

Back in January 2018, the firm was allowed by decree to exploit the mine but “unfortunately, exploration works at the site sparked conflicts between your company and the people of Bouzalo who threaten to vandalize your infrastructures,” said Dèdèriwè Ably-Bidamon, Togo’s minister of mining, in a letter addressed to the Chinese firm on Nov 23, 2018.

Truly, people of Bouzalo often denounced the firm’s activities in the region, despite “local authorities having carried out a first sensitization campaign on October 2018”, to clear their concerns. However, as tensions continued, “a second campaign was carried out on November 21, 2018, led by the regional director of mining and geology in the plateaux and central region, under our instruction,”  the minister added.   

“To preserve peace and social cohesion in this zone”, the government thus asked the Chinese to “temporarily cease all exploration activities in the concerned area”.  

To date, AgriPME, the e-wallet for farmers, has 272,418 users. Considering that the platform was launched only two years ago, this is quite an impressive number. A feat that is the fruit of efficient sensitization campaigns carried out by firms all over the country.

Besides the campaigns, the government’s incentive mechanism for agricultural financing (MIFA), launched less than a year ago, also boosted registration to the e-wallet. Indeed, out the 272,418 farmers actually using AgriPME, 100,000 farmers were brought in through the MIFA.

“With the help of the ministry of digital economy and posts…, Mifa, Togo provided electronic chips to 100,000 farmers, enabling them to carry out transactions via AgriPME and even beyond,” reads a tweet from Noël Bataka, coordinator of MIFA.

“AgriPME is a mobile payment-based platform. It helped dematerialize subsidy payment to farmers and trace this transaction, via the identification of vulnerable farmers. This made the transaction more efficient and precise. By fostering data digitalization, this tool allows to know, in real time, the market’s state as well as availability of fertilizer stocks across the country,” reads a statement released on the official website of the ministry of digital economy.   

Séna Akoda