Highlights:

• Togo to distribute over 100,000 school kits to girls across 64 cantons.
• Initiative part of World Bank-backed SWEDD+ program on education and gender equality.
• Girls’ school completion lags: 59.9% at lower secondary vs 66.8% for boys; only 11% of women in higher education.

Togo will launch on September 9, 2025, a large-scale campaign to distribute more than 100,000 school kits to girls enrolled in public schools, part of efforts to promote education and equal opportunities. The initiative will be launched in Djémégni, Plateaux region, under the patronage of President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé.

The program, supported by the World Bank under the regional SWEDD+ project (Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend in the Enlarged Sahel), will benefit girls in 64 cantons nationwide. Kits include basic supplies and equipment for primary, middle and high school students.

“Girls’ education is not an option, it’s a national priority,” said a project manager. “By offering them the means to succeed, the government is translating into action the President’s vision of investing in human capital.”

Despite progress, disparities remain. According to UNESCO, in 2022, 87% of girls completed primary school versus 91% of boys. At lower secondary level, the completion rate dropped to 59.9% for girls and 66.8% for boys. Gross enrolment in higher education stood at just 11% for women compared with 19% for men.

Beyond kits, SWEDD+ Togo also includes awareness campaigns and family support programs to reduce dropouts, early marriage and financial barriers. For the World Bank, investing in girls’ education remains a key driver of inclusive development.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Highlights:

• Over 4,000 youths joined Togo’s Youth Delivery Lab in Lomé on Sept. 6.
• Event focused on agribusiness, sports industry, peace and cohesion.
• Proposals will be submitted to authorities to shape youth policies.

More than 4,000 young Togolese took part in the second edition of the Youth Delivery Lab (YDL), a citizen platform for participatory dialogue held in Lomé on Saturday.

The gathering, themed “Harnessing the potential of young people for development,” brought together youth, officials and experts to debate agribusiness, the sports industry, and peace and social cohesion.

“We want to involve youth in the definition and implementation of public policies, and this activity is an opportunity to stimulate youth leadership and gather their proposals,” said Abdul Fahd Fofana, Minister Delegate.

According to organizers, the conclusions from panel discussions and round tables will be synthesized and submitted to national authorities to guide youth-focused policies.

The YDL, first held in 2023 with about 600 participants, has expanded significantly, underscoring the government’s effort to make young people central to policymaking in a country where more than 60% of the population is under 25.

Octave A. Bruce 

Côte d’Ivoire remained Togo's top customer in the second quarter of 2025, accounting for 13.3% of exports, valued at 29.8 billion CFA francs, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED Togo). It was closely followed by India, at 13.2% (29.4 billion CFA francs), and Burkina Faso, at 11.1% (24.8 billion CFA francs).

Benin (6.9%), Senegal (6.2%), France (5.9%), and Ghana (5.6%) completed the list of top trading partners. Overall, the top 10 clients accounted for 77.9% of Togo's total exports, highlighting the country's strong reliance on a small number of specific markets.

The primary exported goods were phosphates, at 23.1 billion CFA francs (10.3% of foreign sales), followed by "plastic bags and sachets" at 19.4 billion CFA francs (8.7%), and refined palm oil at 14.7 billion CFA francs (6.5%), according to official statistics.

Declining Exports, Widening Trade Deficit

Overall trade figures reflect a persistent imbalance. Exports totaled 223.9 billion CFA francs, a 13.6% decrease in value from the first quarter. At the same time, imports rose to 461.3 billion CFA francs, a 3.7% increase. The opposing trends resulted in a trade deficit that grew by 28% compared to the previous quarter, reaching 237.4 billion CFA francs.

On a year-over-year basis, exports saw a modest 4.1% increase, while imports grew by 4.9%.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) welcomes the CRRH-UEMOA 6.00% 2025 - 2040 "Social Bond", a CFA60 billion bond issue dedicated to financing affordable housing.

The Social Bond, arranged by Impaxis and confirmed by Moody's with an SQS1 (Excellent) rating, is expected to boost the credibility of the regional financial market and promote sustainable, inclusive finance.

On September 3, 2025, the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) set a significant milestone by listing the "Social Bond CRRH-UEMOA 6.00% 2025 - 2040". This bond issue, worth CFA60 billion, is to help low and middle-income earners living in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) secure decent and affordable housing. The event took place at the headquarters of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) in Lomé, the capital of Togo.
The fundraising was arranged by Impaxis through a public offering. It was based on 60 million bonds valued at CFA10,000 each, earning 6% net per annum for a term of 15 years, with a one-year deferred period.
The bond's social objective was validated by Moody's international agency, which assigned it an SQS1 (Excellent) rating, the highest possible for a sustainable finance tool. According to the BRVM’s Managing Director, Dr. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, this rating bolsters the stock’s credibility and boosts investor appeal for products focused on inclusive and sustainable finance, which align with people’s real needs.

Amenounve highlighted the bond's innovative nature for the market, noting that it marks a step for the Union's countries towards inclusive and sustainable finance, especially as low and middle-income households struggle to afford decent housing.

Yedau Ogoundele, the top manager of the issuer CRRH-UEMOA, expressed pride in the bond's listing on the BRVM. The social bond was oversubscribed by 112% totaling 67.2 billion FCFA, of which 60 billion FCFA was finally taken up. "This is a first in our sub-region," she declared. She added: "What we are celebrating today is much more than a financial operation. It's the first social bond issued in the UEMOA region, fully dedicated to affordable housing and marks 13 years of reliability and trust built with investors, banks, and people."
This marks a strong endorsement of CRRH-UEMOA's commitment to facilitating access to decent housing for middle and low-income households through long-term, structured, secure, and now sustainable financing.

S.A

• Workshop hosted in Aneho with focus on improving capacities related to local economic development.

• The session is supported by the German cooperation through the ProDeG IV program, executed by GIZ

• Participants are learning about planning, mobilising resources, and implementing dynamic economic strategies.

Gathered in Aneho, various local Togolese stakeholders are appropriating the fundamentals of local economic development. The capacity-building workshop is organized by the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Territorial Development. It ends on September 5, 2025.
The meeting is technically and financially backed by the German cooperation through the ProDeG IV program, implemented by GIZ. It regrouped 77 trainees.
The end-goal is to equip municipalities with the tools to plan, mobilise, and implement economic dynamisation strategies suited to their realities. The session covers the conceptual framework of local economic development, sectoral and territorial approaches, as well as the stages of diagnosis, planning, and monitoring of actions.
As part of the workshop, participants will conduct a field trip in the Lacs 1 municipality. There, they will engage with technical services and the private sector.
Present at the session’s opening, the ministry’s Director of Cabinet, Lakougnon Essossima Koffi, urged participants to appropriately steer local economic planning processes. Awume Yawo, representing GIZ, stated that this assistance is intended to reduce territorial disparities and promote balanced development.
According to the Mayor of Lacs 1, Me Aquéréburu Coffi Alexis, one of the main challenges is enhancing the municipalities' ability to highlight their strengths, boost their appeal, and mobilise the necessary resources for investment.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

• Togo starts administering the anti-malarial R21/Matrix-M vaccine

• It is the 22nd African country to adopt the drug

• Campaign began this week, targeting around 269,000 children annually; it aims to curb malaria-related morbidity and mortality by 65% by 2030.

Togo has adopted the R21/Matrix-M anti-malarial vaccine, joining others like Ghana, Benin, Nigeria. The country, the 22^nd on the continent to introduce the drug, kicked off a vaccination campaign on September 1.
Malaria is a major health and economic challenge in Togo. The disease, according to the Togolese Ministry of Health, accounts for 40% of outpatient consultations and 25% of hospital admissions, especially affecting children under five years old, who are the primary target of this campaign. In 2022, this age group represented 64% of confirmed cases and 65% of hospital deaths linked to the disease.
The vaccination schedule includes four doses between 5 and 15 months. The goal is to vaccinate approximately 269,000 children annually (simultaneously covering the country's 39 health districts), which equates to 3.1% of the population, with an intended coverage rate of 80% for the first dose and 70% for the fourth.
The campaign is bolstered by a partnership between the government, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Togo's health authorities aim to reduce malaria-related child morbidity and mortality by 65% by 2030.

To achieve this goal, authorities must tackle several hurdles, such as getting parents onboard, fighting misinformation, and securing necessary resources, sustainably.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s Pension Fund (CRT) paid out more than CFA26.2 billion in social benefits by the end of June 2025, against total revenue of CFA24.5 billion. This left a technical deficit of nearly CFA2 billion, according to the fund’s semi-annual statistical and financial report seen by Togo First.

A total of 41,775 people received benefits in the first half of the year. Retirees accounted for the largest group with 27,991 recipients, while 7,287 received widows’ pensions and 6,206 received temporary allowances for orphans. The CRT also disbursed more than CFA1.1 billion in family benefits and CFA22 million in disability pensions.

By quarter, CFA12.9 billion was distributed in the first quarter and CFA13.2 billion in the second. The increase was mainly due to a higher number of beneficiaries, with retirees rising from 27,883 in Q1 to 27,991 in Q2. Widows’ pensions also grew from 7,159 to 7,287 over the same period.

On the revenue side, CRT collected CFA23.9 billion from pension contributions by June, representing more than 97% of total inflows. Investment income brought in CFA450 million, while other sources—such as subsidies, reimbursements, or exceptional items—added CFA220 million.