So far, only 2% of Niger’s exports transit via Lomé’s Port. However, the port’s authorities, in collaboration with business operators from Niger, intend to increase this figure to 5%.

To this end, many measures should be implemented, according to Fogan Adegnon, Managing Director of the Autonomous Port of Lomé.

Amongst these, improving passage across Burkina corridor and opening the Ponio road (Burkina) would significantly reduce distance travelled from Niger to reach the port of Lomé.

Also, passage costs should be reduced, by suppressing freight distribution, opting for door-to-door transportation of containers, without emptying; this would push consignees to lower deposits they demand.

By doing these, Lomé’s port should capture a significant portion of Niger’s exports via the facility, thus strengthening its position as logistic hub for landlocked nations in the region.

Under the aegis of the minister of trade and private sector promotion, Bernadette Essossimna Legzim-Balouki, open houses at the Société d’Exploitation du Guichet Unique pour le Commerce Extérieur au Togo (SEGUCE-TOGO) begin Today and will end on March 15, 2018, at the firm’s headquarters.

The event is scheduled as follows: on March 13, SEGUCE’s top executives will be introduced just after the opening ceremony; March 14 will be reserved to certified customs commissioners, importers and exporters; and on the last day, business owners, students offering logistics and external trade will be under the spotlight.

According to SEGUCE’s executives, this schedule is for reference sake only in order to avoid crowding.

It is however important to note that SEGUCE helps simplify and ration procedures related to the clearance of goods, accelerate their passage and reduce related processes’ costs and delays.

Its long-term objective is to make relations between external trade actors more transparent. The creation of this entity helped Togo boost its performances, in terms of logistics.

Togocel, leading mobile operator in Togo, will launch 4G at the end of April 2018. This was disclosed by the firm’s MD, Affoh Atcha-Dédji, Afreepress reports.

This comes after a similar move by Téolis last month.

Togocel, which detains 70% of mobile market’s share in the country, indicates that launching the technology falls under its strategy aiming to provide broadband of quality and affordability all over the country. It also aligns with the government’s goal to make Togo a digital hub in the coming decades, while ensuring that broadband is available in the whole country.

In this framework, the upcoming arrival of internet service provider GVA (Group Vivendi Africa), subsidiary of Vivendi, which will position itself on fiber optic, is a new milestone in the development of local telecommunication market. The latter, let’s recall, is expected to grow by more than 6% yearly, in the next two years.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Nine days. That is how many days, on average, was needed to complete property transfer in January 2018. Abbi Toyi, director of cadaster and domain affairs (DADC) said in an interview with Togo First on Friday March 9.

According to a document provided by his office, transfer requests are processed in 1-21 days, but much more between 3-8 days.

The feat can be attributed to the reinforcement of technicalities and staff, rising digitization and association of DADC and OTR.

“Today, we have enough manpower”, Toyi said, promising to keep the average delay under 15 days this year, from 20 days last year. 

Besides these achievements which should further improve in days to come, the official attributes the shortening of transfer delay to authorities’ will to improve business climate in order to attract more investments.

Regarding the latter, he added that by 2020, if reforms are pursued, Togo could beat nations like Rwanda in terms of property transfer. Rwanda, according to the Doing Business, is the number two in Africa in this ranking.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Under the restructuring process started January 11, 2018, the government of Togo, during a ministers’ council held on 7 March 2018, proceeded to six new appointments within the ministry of economy and finances.

Agbenoxevi Kofi Paniah and Ayélé Datti, both finance administrators, were respectively appointed national head of financial control and head of public debt and financing.

Lida Amen Adzoa-Sika Fiawoo Edorh was named as Receiver General for the State.

Kondi Ikpindi Sonhaye Napo, originally central inspector of Treasury, was named paymaster general of the State.

Yao Oniankitan Donko Gbadje, previously general central inspector of Treasury is now General Treasurer of the State.

Last is Kudzo Eva Ametonou who was named general accountant of the State. He was also general central inspector of Treasury.

On March 7, 2018, the Karité Togo label was launched under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Husbandry in partnership with SOIF Togo Foundation and Société Togolaise de Karité (STK).

This project aims at reviving the shea butter sector by betting on its processing into various derivatives, and in the long run exporting.

It also falls under the government’s strategy to reduce poverty and create jobs in rural areas. In fact, 300 women in the Central regions, Kara and Savanna areas have already been trained in shea butter processing.

Let’s recall that from 8th to 10th August last year, Lomé held the 16th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) annual forum. The act to which Togo has been elligible since 2008, eases access to US for sub-Saharan African products. At the end of the meeting, Togolese authorities reiterated its determination to establish an adequate framework to support economic operators in order to fully profit from AGOA. Actually, a monitoring cell was, on the sidelines of the event, put in place to boost and diversify Togolese exports to US.