The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will soon be providing Togo support for its Agricultural Financing Incentive Scheme (MIFA).

Truth is, a delegation of experts from the institution, led by its Director for West and Central Africa, was recently in Lomé in this framework.

During its visits, IFAD experts met with various officials engaged in the MIFA, to better understand the scheme and its projections. This way, the UN institution would apprehend the scheme’s needs.

Let it be recalled that IFAD’s incumbent president, Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, decided a few months ago to help Togo, both financially and technically, in implementing the MIFA.

Octave A. Bruce

Keras Resources announced on Tuesday it has identified a new outcropping mineralisation at its Nayega manganese project in northern Togo.

Eight additional hectares have been discovered at Ogaro, few kilometers from the main Nayega deposit, the AIM-listed company revealed.

Samples taken from 14 wells with a 35-m depth to test Ogaro’s central mineralization area have shown positive results, according to Keras’ executives. They believe this new discovery show that Nayega holds more significant prospects. 

“The identification of a significant new area of outcropping mineralisation at Nayega further lays the foundation and increases our expectations for what we believe will become a new low capex, low operating cost manganese producer,” Keras Resources CEO, Russell Lamming, said.

The firm plans to immediately start phase I of its project which spans 100m x 100m. Quite content of its recent collaboration with local communities, on its recent 10,000 t bulk sampling testing programme, the firm will rely once more on local labor.

“We have now employed a team from the local community which has, to date, been involved in the preparation of the bulk sample site and will now move over to the Ogaro area to commence a pitting exercise,” Lamming added.

Keras Resources operates the Nayega project through its Togolese subsidiary, Société Générale des Mines (SGM), in which it owns an 85% stake.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Twenty billion CFA. That is the budget dedicated to the e-ID Togo project announced last April during a council of ministers. This project will provide each Togolese, and any person residing in the country, a unique biometric ID number.

It (the project) will also help the government have reliable data on populations, thus enable it better provide them public and social services. Led by the ministry of posts and digital economy, the project falls under a process to modernize and reform Togo’s public administration.

Private partners are expected to get involved in the project. Let it be recalled that the latter aligns with the third axis of Togo’s national development which aims at consolidating social development and improving inclusion mechanisms.

Octave A. Bruce

In Togo, the national fund for inclusive finance (FNFI) has at June 30, 2018 collected a total of CFA30 billion from the State and various lenders. This was disclosed Sept 18 by Assih Mazamesso, State secretary in charge of financial inclusion and informal sector.

Leveraging the funds, the FNFI has provided CFA75 billion loans through a revolving system. Compared to CFA73 billion announced a few months back, the figure is quite an improvement.

Looking at loan recovery rate, it stands at 93% like announced during the four-year review meeting of the FNFI. In this regard, the Savanna region is the best debt-payer with a reimbursement rate of 100%.

Encouraged by these performances, the State secretary said FNFI should achieve financial autonomy by 2019 and thus announced the arrival of new products.

Séna Akoda

To boost its support to the sub-regional financial system and anticipate future disruptions, the BRVM just launched a fintech contest.

Entitled BRVM Fintech Innovation Challenge, this contest targets young talents, aged between 18 and 40, and bearing innovative projects, Ecofin Agency reports. 

Some of the selected applicants will benefit from a 6-12 months support to implement their projects at the BRVM Fintech Lab. Others will take part to a hackathon organized by the BRVM and AfricaFinLab, an African initiative that exists to develop and promote innovation in the finance sector.

With the upcoming challenge, participants with the most innovative projects could get contracts with partnering firms and secure financing.

Applications are opened up till October 17, 2017. According to the Abidjan-based stockmarket, application form is available on its official website.

The Central Bank of West African States just released its annual report on banking conditions across the WAEMU in 2017. The document provides a detailed review of the union’s banking sector, with specifics regarding loans granted over the last year, as well as customers’ deposits and interest rates in place.

In five points, here is a summary of the apex bank’s report for Togo.

No new institution in 2017

Though three new banks joined the union’s market, in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal, the BCEAO’s report indicates that in Togo, the banking sector recorded no new arrivals with 15 lending institutions, 13 banks and 2 financial institutions, operating in the country, just like in 2016. In 2017, indicators of the banking sector were overall satisfying, despite some corrective measures imposed on some institutions, including two State-owned banks. Also, though some banks show concerning signs, the central bank says measures were taken to improve affected ratios, such as social capital threshold. The latter is now set at CFA10 billion for banks and CFA3 billion for financial institutions.

Lower volumes of loans granted

Following consecutive surges, knowingly a 13.5% increase to CFA664.4 billion, in 2016, loans provided by Togolese banks slumped by about 4.2% falling at CFA632.2 billion. Out of this amount, private firms captured the most. However, on a year-to-year basis, the figure slumped by 10.4%; a decrease spurred by lower loans dedicated to equipment purchase which fell 61.9% to CFA39 billion. Moreover, housing loans also decreased by 42%. Same goes for loans given to support exports. Meanwhile, consumption loans increased but very slightly.

Loans granted to cooperatives, village associations, individual companies, insurance companies and pension funds also decreased. This is alarming, considering that in Togo, close to 70% of the people live off agriculture.

Overall, the slump is attributed to the socio-political crisis recorded in the second half of 2017. Indeed, due to the political uncertainty resulting from the crisis, some banks preferred pushing the risk on treasury loans. They indeed disbursed more than CFA327 billion (+19%) for companies treasury.  

Higher interest rates for vulnerable groups

While average debit interest rates applied in WAEMU states remained stable in 2017 (about 6.93% in Togo), the lowering trend started since 2012 is maintained. Last year, rates were the lowest in the past decade. It improved 21 base points to 8.1%. According to the central bank, this is due to high rates imposed by intermediates. In detail, rates applied for cooperatives, village associations and insurance-pension funds were the highest, 9.15% and 9.74% respectively.

Long-term loans are safer

In 2017, long-term loans were the safest for banks. In effect, rates for 10-year loans were the lowest, while very short term loans (less than a month) had the highest interest rates.

Deposits plunged drastically  

In 2016, customers deposited a total CFA1,742.2 billion. Last year, banks collected 28% less, knowingly CFA1,254.4 billion.

From private companies operating in the production chain, banks collected CFA313 billion, thus 25% more than the year before.  

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Approved during a ministers council end-March 2017, the merger between State-owned banks BTCI and UTB was suspended, sources close to the case told Togo First.

“The merger is suspended and its effective date has been postponed…until ongoing talks with the IMF, regarding other options to restructure or rescue BTCI and UTB are concluded. The two institutions will hence restart operations, independently,” reads a note addressed to the lenders by Patrick Mestrallet who is in charge of the merger.

The merger was decided by the government to “consolidate the banks’ financial situation and increase their respective capitals, thus solvability in order to improve their intervention capacities to better support the national economy,” after their privatization failed.

Concerning the latter, it was a measure initiated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in line with its 3-year ECF programme signed in May 2017 with the Togolese government. This program aligned with Lomé’s will disinvest from public banks.

Séna Akoda

For its 45th anniversary, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) has launched a new contest which will reward the best bearers of clean energy projects (in WAEMU) with a CFA30 million grant.

Eligible applicants include civil society organizations, professional or non-professional associations, researchers, and private entities. Projects submitted should include an environmental resilience component, help create jobs for youth, boost Togo’s competitiveness in renewable sector, and meet basic social needs, among others.

The prize to be gained is one of many advantages that the contest’s winner is to benefit from. Applicants have until next October 8, to submit their candidacy.  

Séna Akoda