Togo First
WAEMU : Togo and Senegal were the countries that diversified their exports the most in 2016
Across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Togo and Senegal are the countries that diversified their exports the most in 2016. This was disclosed in BCEO’s latest report on external trade.
“Looking at the diversification index for every country of the Union, the report shows…a greater improvement in Senegal and Togo than in the other countries,” the report released last week indicates.
However, since 2006, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali are also doing well on the index. Their improvement is attributed to the fact that these nations mostly focus their exports on cotton and gold.
While in Côte d’Ivoire, the index was almost stable over the reviewed period, in Guinea Bissau it fell, as a result of the country’s tendency to focus its exports on cashew. Indeed, over the past five years, the crop contributed on average 95% of all its exports. In the Union, Guinea Bissau is the country with the least diversified exports, thus positioned behind Mali, Burkina and Benin.
It should be noted that in WAEMU, exports diversification is determined through the assessment of the Theil diversification index. This indicator takes into account the volume of goods exported by a given economy and concentration of these exports on a particular product. The lower the values, the more exports are diversified.
Togo’s index is one, just like Senegal’s. In Mali, it is 2.2; 2 in Burkina; 1.8 in Benin; 1.7 in Niger and 1.2 in Côte d’Ivoire.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo records slump in exports in 2017, due to lower re-exports of goods and phosphate
In 2017, the value of goods exported by Togo fell by CF112 billion after rising over the two previous consecutive years.
From CFA644.1 billion in 2016, exports value, excluding transportation, insurance and duty fees, slumped to CFA532.1 billion (-14%) in 2016.
The decrease was spurred by lower re-exportations (-81%) of phosphate (-17.5%), chemical products, clinker and cement, cocoa products, coffee, etc. However it was cushioned by exports of cotton, palm oil, oil products, gold and precious metals.
In parallel, imports reduced as well, just like in 2016, by 14.5%, standing at CFA946 billion. Here, the decrease was mainly due to a slump of equipment goods purchases, from CFA339.4 billion in 2016, to CFA202.1 billion in 2017 (-40%).
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Doing Business : President Gnassingbé urges his administration to implement more reforms to pass the 100th ranking
During the ministers council held November 8, 2018, President Faure Gnassingbé urged his administration to maintain its dynamic reforms to pass the 100th rank of the Doing Business. This is as the country, in this year’s edition of the global ranking, saw its ranking improve (from 156th last year to 137th).
In the long term, the country aims to have one of the best business environments, if not the best, of WAEMU, ECOWAS, Africa and if possible the world’s.
By setting such high goals, Togo hopes to be on par or overtake countries like Mauritius which is the most attractive country in Africa for business (20th worldwide with a score of 79.58) and Rwanda, first performer in Africa according to the 2019 Doing Business (29th worldwide) with a score of 77.88 out of 100.
Most importantly, Lomé first wants to attract as much external private investments as possible to finance its 2018-2022 national development plan. In this framework, Sandra Johnson, Advisor to the President of the Republic and Coordinator of the Business Climate Cell (CCA) mentioned during a workshop held last November 5 the need to keep up approved reforms, and efficiently work on remaining indicators, even if some, according to her, such as regulating insolvency befall OHADA. “…We are strongly committed to implementing reforms for greater successes in a context where our country is implementing its 2018-2022 national development plan which places business climate as one the major factors contributing to (economic) success,” she declared.
Séna Akoda
Cameroonian startup Paykap partners with Togolese microfinance actors to expand its activities to Togo
Last Tuesday, Paykap, mobile money transfer and e-payment solution behind Fricacoin, Africa’s first cryptocurrency, signed various partnership agreements with some ten local microfinance institutions, thus entering the Togolese market.
Under the agreements, the fintech which operates only in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Canada so far, will create decentralized financial systems (DFS) necessary for its money transfer platform.
In effect, Paykap’s new partners who will become “certified Paykap agents” will act as physical intermediates providing the fintech’s services to populations, against agreed commissions, up to 30% according to credible sources.
According the firm’s CEO, Dalvarice Ngoudjou, a seed fund of CFA3 million will be put in place to ensure the SFDs functionning. This fund will be replenished every time a set alert threshold is reached.
The arrival of the Cameroonian startup in Togo will surely boost financial inclusion and e-commerce in the West African nation. It will help foster fund transfers by the diaspora (valued at almost $500 million last year) as related costs are actually high worldwide.
PayKap Mobile Money is an e-wallet enabling its holder to operate various financial transactions with their bank accounts or other PayKap users, using mobile phones regardless of the networks.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo : CEET launches tender to rehabilitate and improve its network
Togo’s power utility, CEET, has launched a tender to rehabilitate and improve its low-voltage and medium voltage distribution networks. The tender will close on December 13, 2018.
Related works are grouped into three distinct lots valued at $638,768 (about CFA366 million). They fall under the Energy Sector Investment and Reform Program (PRISET) which received a $35 million funding from World Bank.
PRISET aims at rehabilitating and improving high-voltage and medium-voltage lines in Lomé, as well as expanding network and installing new connections.
According to the World Bank, the program will help CEET cut its commercial and technical losses but also improve its management while its revenues and financial results as bill payments will increase.
In line with the tender, a preparatory meeting will be held on November 19, 2018 at CEET, after which a visit of various sites is planned.
Government to soon conduct study on management of Kara’s new market
Togo’s government will order a study on the management of Kara’s new market. This will fall under the Project to Support Reconstruction of Markets and Sellers of Kara and Lomé (PARMCO) which is financed, through a loan and a grant, by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The study aims to improve the market management and involves a review of how the old market was managed, suggesting necessary changes that can be adapted to the new market.
Moreover, it will assess the mode of allocation and renewal of spots ; admitted sale methods ; determination of technics to store stacked products as well as identification of goods handling methods ; management of sanitization issues, which includes collection and evacuation of waste ; collection of fees to use the market and lead to the revision of rental fees for a given period if needed.
The study will also look at provision of power services ; insurance fee for goods and people and how mobile sellers are handled.
Séna Akoda
MCC: Togo passed 14 out of 20 indicators this year, two more than last year
On November 5, 2018, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) produced its yearly assessment of performances of countries rivaling to benefit from its investment programs for developing economies.
The report looks at three indicators namely good governance, economic freedom and human capital investment. This edition, the sixteenth, analyzed performances of 80 countries, including Togo. The latter, in this year’s report, has met two additional criteria, now totaling 14 out of 20, against 12 last year and 5 only four years ago.
It therefore now stands on par with Côte d’Ivoire (14/20) and comes ahead of Benin (13/20), Burkina (13/20), Niger (11/20) or Mali (9/20).
Still, Togo needs to improve regarding indicators like land, tax policies, child health and public administration efficiency, if it wants to reach a nation like Senegal, the only WAEMU member that satisfies 16 indicators.
The main thing to retain from the report is that Togo can now apply for MCC’s compact program even if its requirements are more strict than the Threshold program which the country has been eligible to since 2015.
In effect, Togo, for the third consecutive year, has passed the three eligibility criteria of the Compact, knowingly: control of corruption, democratic rights and passing at least half of the 20 indicators.
These are the indicators passed by Togo under MCC’s 2019 scorebook.
Ruling justly (5 indicators passed out of 6)
Control of corruption
Freedom of information
Political rights
Civil liberties
Rule of law
Investing in people (5 indicators passed out of 6)
Health expenditures
Primary education expenditures
Immunization rates
Girls’ primary education completion rate
Natural resource protection
Economic freedom (4 indicators passed out of 8)
Inflation
Regulatory quality
Trade policy
Gender in the economy
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Coris Bank International’s net profit up 13% at end-September 2018, compared to 2017
Burkinabe banking group Coris Bank International (CBI), also active in Togo, has over the first three quarters of 2018 recorded a net profit of CFA19 billion, up 13% compared to 2017. Same goes for its pre-tax profit which grew by almost 15% over the period reviewed reaching CFA21 billion.
The lender attributes the performance to “a surge of intermediation and treasury activities as well as to commissions derived from its products and services”. These pushed the bank’s net banking product up 21% to CFA41.3 billion.
Going deeper, CBI statistics show a 27% increase in customer loans to CFA598 billion at the end of Q3 2018, against CFA469 billion at September 30, 2017. Similarly, deposits grew from CFA497 billion to about CFA619 billion year-on-year over the period reviewed.
The positive results of the group which currently operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Mali, Togo, Senegal and soon Niger, allows the bank to boost its activities. At the end of September 2018, its total balance sheet expanded by 14% to CFA1,139 billion, while it stood at CFA885 billion back in 2016. In 2017, Coris Bank International had 282,477 customers.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Works executed by SAFER in 2017 and 2018 to soon be technically and financially audited
Works executed by the Autonomous Company for Road Maintenance Financing in 2017-2018 will be audited, technically and financially.
In detail, the audit will focus on road maintenance programs by the General Directorate of Public Works, training activities conducted by the Regional Centre for Road Maintenance Training (CERFER) and also procurement provision process over the period under review.
The audit will revolve around three main axes. First is assessing the whole execution process of selected projects, both those fully carried out and ongoing (from contract signing to end of works).
Next, the audit will check how regular processes for procurement and contract provision are, and if works executed technically conform with the terms of contract; if costs and delays agreed upon are respected; projects’ financial situation will be assessed as well.
Last, the audit will help analyze works conformity with standards set in the related specifications.
Séna Akoda
Togo: Vo prefecture to get a CFA750M agro-pastoral experimentation and research centre
In Togo, about 40km North-East of Lomé, the Vo prefecture will soon host a multipurpose agro-pastoral research and experimentation centre.
According to Togo Press which released the information, construction works for the project were just launched by Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, minister of grassroot development, in the presence of her peer from the ministry of agriculture and husbandry, Ouro-Koura Agadazi. The project will cost CFA750 million.
The centre will focus on various agricultural sub-sectors including animal (poultry, pigs, sheep and goats) and crop (vegetables) production.
Commenting on the educational nature of the upcoming centre, the minister of agriculture declared: “We all know that traditional education has reached its limits. Today, most countries have to overcome a major challenge which is job creation”
On her part, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbé encouraged the youth to not lose faith in farming and become rural entrepreneurs.
Séna Akoda