Edoh Kossi Amenounve, actual managing director of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) was just appointed vice president of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA). ‎ 

This occurred on the sidelines of ASEA’s 22nd general assembly and annual conference which started on November 25 and will end tomorrow. It is being held in Nigeria.

The Togolese was elected alongside Egyptian Karim Hajji, new president of the stock market, and actual managing director of Casablanca’s stock market.

The duet, according to the BRVM, will “steer the Association’s new strategy (2019-2023) as well as the African Exchange Linkage Project which aims to improve financing of African economies”.

Edoh Kossi Amenounve, it should be recalled, joined ASEA’s executive committee in 2014. Since 2016, he has been heading the association’s policy regulation committee.

Established in 1993, ASEA includes 27 stock markets. Its mission is to make African stock markets more visible, promote inter-stock markets, and provide an information portal for African public markets and global statistics.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Togo’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) now regulates online media also. Indeed, the organic law defining the regulator’s action field was amended by the national assembly last November 15, thus expanding the institution’s authority to these types of media.

The measure, according to the minister of communication, Guy Madjé Lorenzo, aligns with Togo’s desire to “adapt its legislation to standards set by technological evolution”. Indeed, the HAAC’s former regulation did not enable it to regulate online media platforms, thus preventing the institution from fulfilling its mission, knowingly regulating all media.

Regardless of the new improvement, the new law still does not take into account social networks. Hence, the HAAC will not be able to sanction, for example, fake news propagation via Facebook, Twitter, or blogs.

Servan Ahougnon

Next year, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) plans to raise $100 million for the agricultural sector in West Africa. This was reported by agricultural news website Agriditale.

The investment, a record actually, will mostly be spent to promote various agricultural value chains across the region.

Noting that EBID’s investment in the sector over the past three years amounted to $100 million, Hugues Goa, Coordinator of Public Sector Action and Head of Agriculture and Rural Development at EBID, said agricultural transformation is still slow.

With the bank’s decision to focus more on agricultural value chains, Togo, leveraging its Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (MIFA), should capture a significant portion of the funds that will be disbursed in 2019.

Séna Akoda

The top-class forum on the development of agro-industrial transformation zones via public-private partnerships will end today.

The two-day event was initiated by the Autonomous Centre for Studies and Capacity Reinforcement for Togo’s Development (CADERDT), with the support of the government and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

It aims to attract private investors in the framework of a public-private partnership in the agricultural sector. A move that falls under the second axis of the national development plan, knowingly the creation of manufacturing and agricultural transformation poles.

According to Odilia Gnassingbé, Director of CADERDT, “the State cannot be the only investor, which is why private sector must also get engaged to multiply efforts made”.

During the two days of the forum, investors, development partners and financial institutions, will exchange on the various business opportunities available in Togo, to foster the growth of the agricultural sector which, let’s recall, presently contributes 40% of its GDP.

Togo’s power utility, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), launched a new platform to manage its power meters and sales of prepaid power credit. Baptized Lafia, the solution aims to improve customer management.    

The new platform replaces the former one which reached saturation, a notice from CEET reveals.

The switch went well according to the notice, both for all sales points as well as for mobile payment partners, namely FLOOZ and T-Money.

The notice further indicates that the Information and Services Centre (CIS) can still be reached on the 8228, for more information.

Let’s recall that the Lafia meter is a prepaid solution. It allows users to prepay electricity bills for consumption. It exists in both single-phase (two wires) and three-phase (four wires) models.

Séna Akoda

For Africa to industrialize more, it needs to find a market where it can sell its products. This was revealed by Togo’s minister of industry and tourism, Yaové Atigbé Ihou. “Without the guarantee of a market receiving Africa’s industrial products, the structural transformation of the economy is not possible”, the official said on November 20, African Industrialization Day.  

Indeed, presently, the share of African industrial products in international trade is insignificant, the Togolese official indicated.

For all African economies, Togo especially, to undergo a structural transformation producing high added value for their industrialization, they should trade more among themselves, Yaovi Atigbé Ihou recommended.

Let’s recall that Togo, with its 2018-2022 national development plan, under which it plans to build various industrial parks, eyes a growth rate of 8% by 2022. The government also wishes to structurally transform the State for a strong, sustainable, resilient, inclusive growth, inducing the creation of decent jobs.

In this framework, authorities, be it in the sectors of pharmaceutical industry or ICTs, are creating a favorable environment to attract investors, according to Luciano Feou, Director of Industry.

Séna Akoda

On November 21, 2018, Hungary’s new ambassador to Togo, Andras Szabo, presented his credentials to President Faure Gnassingbé. On this occasion, the European official affirmed that his nation wishes to build a strong relationship with Togo.

Comforted by its recent experience in Ghana where it opened an embassy two years ago, Hungary now wants to invest in Togo, in sectors such as energy, water, ICT, defense, security, agriculture and agrofood. “I told the President of the Republic that we would like to develop in Togo the same projects we did in Ghana, because if we could do it there, we can do the same here,”  said Andras Szabo.

Soon, Hungary should have in Togo an honorary consulate. “We need someone here to represent us daily. Very soon, I hope to return to inaugurate our honorary consulate; it is very important,”  Szabo added.

Séna Akoda

Yesterday, Nov. 21, Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé received UK’s former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, head of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Blair during the meeting lauded Togo’s business environment indicating that it is favorable to foreign investments. “Now, investors can be attracted here”, said the former minister whose institution supports the implementation of Togo’s 2018-2022 national development plan.  

Tony Blair attributes the country’s attractiveness to foreign investments to “major decisions”  taken by its authorities. Actually, these efforts helped Togo gain 19 places in the 2019 Doing Business.

Blair said he has great faith in Togo’s potential to develop, emphasizing on one of its main assets: its deep-water modern port. He added that his institution is ready to provide Lomé with the necessary support to make it a regional logistics hub.

Séna Akoda