Nigerian logistics startup, Kobo360, plans to begin operating in Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal by the end of 2019. To this end, it recently raised $1.2 million.

Part of this sum will be used to pay its drivers and buy more trucks which it will rent to firms that wish to transport goods (via an online platform that works like Uber). So far, the startup has more than 5,000 trucks it uses.

“By the end of this year, we intend to add 20,000 trucks to our platform. In the years to come, we will expand to four other African nations,” said Obi Ozor, Co-founder and CEO of Kobo360. “First, we will be in Ghana this year and next year we will go to the other countries,” he added.

Founded in 2016 by Ife Oyodeli Obi Ozor, Kobo 360 already serves 324 firms. By next August, Hausa and Pidgin versions of its platform should be available.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Last Friday, the regional power market of West Africa was launched in Cotonou, Benin.

Launching ceremony was presided by Benin’s minister of planning and development, Abdoulaye Bio Tchané. Present were 13 ministers of electricity of other ECOWAS nations, including Togo’s, Marc Ably-Bidamon.

According to Bio Tchané, the regional market will help tackle shortcomings in regards to power supply and quality, which have been impeding economic growth across the region.

“The creation of the regional power market is necessary to solve the issue of unequal distribution of power resources between countries, and bridge the power supply and demand gap,” said Benin’s minister of power, Jean-Claude Houssou.  

For Togo which aims at achieving a 100% power access rate by 2030, this is good news since the initiative’s goal is to produce, sell and buy power at low cost.

ECOWAS’ regulatory organ in charge of power (ARREC) was established in January 2018 and is headquartered in Benin. 

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Passionate, perfectionist and visionary, Mablé Agbodan truly incarnates the multi-talent Togolese Woman. Specialized in luxury designs, she is the director of a gallery and online shop.

“Craving to change things and help her Togolese brothers and sisters”, the laureate of the “Arts, Sports and Culture Contest”, Women Category, created in August 2016, the Arts and Craftsmanship Club of Togo. The club’s objective is to improve skills of Togolese artisans to make the sector more competitive and attractive. However, she went through many hardships before getting to that stage. Let’s now discover the adventure of this admirable personage in the present interview.

T.F : You were living abroad where everything was going well for you, both in regards to your work and business. Yet, you returned home. Why?  

M.A : You often hear people say that the best place to serve is home or that no place feels like home. Well, I always say Europeans built their own place and that it is also up to us Africans, to build our own continent. I would like to contribute to that process.  

T.F : So, what do you think are the measures to implement to help Togolese artisans reveal their potential and enjoy their profession ?

M.A : I believe we still have very much to do. African craftsmanship still has a long way to go. For now, one becomes an artisan either when he fails in school, does not want to attend school or when there is no other option. Proof of that is some have to work for free to learn the ropes of a given job since they have no way to pay for the training. I would thus say that what African craftsmanship first needs is sensitization.

For my part, with the limited means I have, I intend to provide the young people of my centre, training in English. I am thinking of negotiating a deal with the US embassy in this regard. Also, since each of them has a bank account, I wish to help them get loans to purchase a vehicle. My goal is to let them understand that their work, what they do, craftsmanship, has great value and that they can live off it.

T.F : Institutionally,  what do you think should be done to develop this sector ?

M.A : Well, I think the sector should be modernized by providing artisans practical tools to stimulate them, to spark their creativity.

T.F : In regards to standards, what is your opinion of African artisans compared to the Europeans, since you have experience with both ?

M.A : African artisans are unable to perform some tasks for the simple fact that they know not how to and lack the means to as well. Also, culture is a barrier since the African artisan was taught to be a follower and not a leader. He is limited, conditioned, he lacks the means to explore and his culture prevents him from truly expressing himself. This is clearly not the case for the European artisan.

T.F : How do you finance the craftsmanship club ? 

M.A : I must say that it is quite difficult at the moment and I would like to take this chance to ask for support from the government, first, and any other willing person, so that this centre will not be the first and last of the kind. I started with whatever I had. I primarily funded the centre with savings I gathered over 10 years and I often tell my artisans that if one does not quickly find a way to sell his works, the well from which he draws money would dry (chuckles…).

T.F : In this regard, what are your outlets ? To whom are your products directed?

M.A : I would surely like to sell to everyone but it is not possible to please everybody. So, my main clients are so far currently in Europe. I offer high-end products which are directed at a specific social group: football players, designers, bourgeois… However, my goal is to sell to people in the African middle class in addition to my actual customers.

T.F : Do you have issues selling here, in Togo ?

M.A : Yes of course. People here are not much interested and often get discouraged by the prices. Others are however interested but do not buy.

T.F : So why don’t you reduce your prices ?

M.A : The thing is, we spend a lot of time making our products. We do not rush. We take time at the stages of conception, design and all the rest… That is why our prices are relatively high.

T.F : Creating this centre is a first milestone. What comes next?

M.A : My dream is to have a university where craftsmanship will be taught. I was dreaming about the Craftsmanship Club for many years and that dream finally came true. I have been through a lot to get here. Since I started my journey on this path, and during my countless trips, I dreamt of one day creating an African institute of craftsmanship (chuckles…). I started on my sister’s veranda and here I am now. The next step is to build other centres in Kara and Dapaong and create a real training centre for artisans. A place where a certain level of skills would be demanded before admission

Interview by Fiacre E. Kakpo, Séna Akoda and Ahlonko Octave Bruce

For the new campaign started at the end of May 2018, cotton producers in the Savannah region eye an optimal output of 67,000 tons. This is almost half of overall production targeted for the season, knowingly 140,000 tons.

However, the farmers set lower target, for the region, at 53,000 tons in case conditions are not optimal.

To achieve their goal, 67,000 hectares would be sown, up from 62,984 ha the past season. This is one third of total areas to be sown across the country this season. With these ambitions, the Savannah region would remain Togo’s leading cotton producer.

At the national level, output would be spurred by a low initial purchase price for cotton seed set at FCFA250 per kg in 2018/19 paired with low prices for various inputs.

Let’s recall that Togo wishes to achieve a cotton output of 200,000 tons by 2022. The sector greatly helped fight poverty in rural areas last season, with more than CFA17.5 billion of net revenues for farmers.

Séna Akoda

The recent roundtable organized by Togo’s government to raise funds for its new electrification strategy is already bearing fruits.

Indeed, an official statement released by AfDB and relayed by republicoftogo.com indicates that the institution will finance the strategy with €120 million (€30 million in own funds and €90 million from partners) over the off-grid power development project’s first two years of implementation.

Another institution engaged in the initiative is BOAD which plans to inject CFA21 billion into mini-grids.

Next is the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (BIDC) which will invest $40 million in the Togolese project. The money will be used to finance solar kit suppliers.

World Bank which co-organized the roundtable also promised $30 million for the project which aims to provide electricity to all Togolese by 2030. Other lenders are analyzing modalities to support the strategy both technically and financially, AfDB’s statement adds.

The Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROJEP) could enable solar kits firms to benefit from a credit line of $148 million from World Bank. Its implementation should begin in January 2019.

Séna Akoda

In Togo, civil society organizations (OSC) met last Tuesday with the minister of planning and development, Kossi Assimaïdou, to discuss the 2018-2022 national development plan.

At this occasion the OSCs, according to Séna Alouka, executive director of NGO Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE), recommended the establishment of the GT-OSC-ODD platform which is a special unit dedicated to their contribution to the achievement of SDGs via the national development plan. Also, they suggested quarterly meetings be held with the minister.

The recent meeting let’s indicate, is part of government’s plan to draw an inclusive national development plan, one that would involve all actors concerned by the issue of development.

Séna Akoda

In the next three years, Greenlight Planet will provide Togolese households 300,000 solar kits.

The firm got local authorities’ approval for the initiative, credible sources indicate.

This project should greatly strengthen the government’s goal to achieve universal power access by 2030.

After the deal is finalized, Greenlight Planet will add to British firm BBOXX which is engaged in the CIZO project that aims at distributing solar kits to 550,000 household across the country.

According to Patrick Muriuki, Head of Development for Africa at Greenlight Planet, “Togo is a relatively small market”, but which still interests his company because “it moves at a fast pace with its electrification strategy, unlike other nations which are slow to invest in renewable energy infrastructures”. 

The executive also praised the regulatory, logistic and fiscal framework that authorities are putting in place in order to attract more investments in the clean energy sector. “The government has, for example, lifted custom taxes (30%) imposed on solar kits, and developed a good system to distribute them,” Muriuki said.

 Fiacre E. Kakpo

Between 2015 and 2018, World Bank’s investment in Togo soared from about $150 million to $350 million, according to the institution representative chief, Joëlle Dehasse.

Dehasse disclosed this information on June 28, while meeting with Togo’s Prime Minister. “When I came into office in 2015, the portfolio was valued at about $150 million and now it has exceeded $350 million,” she said while notifying the official of her mandate’s end.  

Major achievements recorded during Dehasse’s time in Togo include the implementation of partnership framework by World Bank for Togo, a mid-term strategy and reopening of dialogues regarding reforms and budget support.

Over the past three years, the Bretton Woods institution prioritized Togo’s power and agriculture sectors which it helped boost. This trend should be maintained by the outgoing representative’s substitute, Dehasse declared.

Séna Akoda