Togo’s Ministry of Energy and Mines has launched a program to gradually digitize its administrative processes, aiming to streamline services and improve efficiency. The digital transformation initiative was officially launched in Lomé on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

The pilot phase targets 31 services across five agencies overseen by the ministry, including the Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER), and the Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority (ARSE). The goal is to make public services more accessible and efficient for citizens.

According to officials from the Ministries of Public Service Efficiency and Energy, digitalization will enhance productivity by replacing manual procedures with digital tools, saving time and reducing costs. This will be achieved by eliminating paper processes and enabling cloud-based data access.

Telecom operator Yas will provide connectivity and deploy collaborative tools such as an intranet and internal messaging systems. The Togo Digital Agency (ATD) will digitize public-facing services for online access, while Cyber Defense Africa (CDA) will secure the networks and applications.

Cina Lawson, Minister of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation, said the effort is primarily about improving efficiency. “Interacting with the state can be challenging for citizens,” she noted, “and our goal is to simplify procedures and make interactions with the government more efficient and user-friendly.”

Deputy Energy Minister Robert Koffi Messan Eklo added: “If we don’t have digital tools suited to our needs to deliver services to citizens, the work won’t be properly done.”

This initiative aligns with the government’s broader strategy to digitize 75% of public services by the end of 2025. Following the Energy Ministry, three additional ministries will transition to digital operations each month starting in January.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo is working to boost the competitiveness of its crop sectors by developing technical and economic tools to guide investment, improve productivity, and strengthen agro-industrial value chains.

As part of this effort, the Agency for the Development of Very Small, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ADTPME) has issued a call for applications to recruit a consultant. The expert will develop technical and economic guidelines for key crop sectors.

The recruitment is part of the Project to Support Young Entrepreneurs in Value Chains (PAJEC), financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Youth Employment Initiative Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF).

Based in Lomé, the consultant will help the ADTPME identify high-potential sectors, map key occupations, and design development plans for agro-industrial clusters, with a focus on young people and women.

The resulting guidelines are expected to improve economic planning, ease access to financing for agricultural MSMEs, and boost the overall competitiveness of the sector. Applications for the consultancy are due by November 17, 2025.

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A Tunisian economic and trade delegation is scheduled to visit Togo from Dec. 2 to 6, 2025, coinciding with the 20th edition of the Lomé International Fair.

Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunis (CCI Tunis) in partnership with the Togo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the visit aims to strengthen economic cooperation between the two nations and boost South-South trade.

The mission’s program includes business-to-business (B2B) meetings between Tunisian and Togolese economic operators to explore partnership opportunities in commerce, industry, digitalization, and innovation. The Tunisian companies are also expected to participate in "Togo Day," a focused event dedicated to new African entrepreneurial dynamics.

Furthermore, the delegation plans visits to the Port of Lomé and the Adétikopé Industrial Platform to give participants a firsthand understanding of the country's logistical and industrial capabilities.

The Lomé International Fair, which hosts the economic mission, runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 14, 2025. With China designated as the guest of honor, the event expects over 1,300 exhibitors and approximately 700,000 visitors from the sub-region and beyond.

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Kara is hosting a regional training workshop this week for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), running until November 7. The workshop is organized by the Ministry of Investment Promotion, Industry, and Economic Sovereignty.

The event is part of the Project to Support Investment Promotion and Public-Private Partnership Development (PAPIDPPP). It aims to equip local entrepreneurs,  including artisans, traders, women business owners, company heads, and young startup founders,  with practical tools to structure their businesses, improve competitiveness, and access financing.

Training sessions cover areas such as business creation and management, marketing, basic accounting, and the use of digital tools to increase business visibility. The program seeks to strengthen local entrepreneurship and build a more dynamic private sector, considered vital to the country’s economic and social development.

The initiative is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Transition Support Facility.

Togo has launched a project to upgrade power grids in six major cities ,  Aného, Atakpamé, Kpalimé, Kara, Sokodé, and Dapaong ,  the Ministry of Energy announced recently.

The project is financed through a 6 billion CFA franc loan from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). It involves rehabilitating 61 kilometers of medium-voltage lines, installing 61 new transformer stations, and laying 234 kilometers of low-voltage lines. The ministry estimates the upgrades will connect about 10,000 households and small businesses across the six municipalities.

The initiative aims to strengthen Togo’s aging electricity network, which has struggled to keep pace with population growth. Rapid urban expansion in recent years has often caused voltage drops and frequent power outages.

Through this project, Togo is advancing its national strategy for universal access to electricity by 2030, with an interim goal of achieving 75% national coverage by the end of 2025.

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé will host the United Kingdom-West and Central Francophone Africa (UK-WCAF) Trade and Investment Forum from November 12 to 13. The event is expected to bring together more than 600 participants, including public officials, investors, and business leaders from across the region.

The forum is jointly organized by the Togolese government, the UK Department for Business and Trade (formerly the Department for International Trade), and partners such as UK Export Finance and DMA Invest.

Talks will focus on investment opportunities, business partnerships, and financing tools to boost economic cooperation between the UK and Francophone countries in West and Central Africa. Participants will also review national economic priorities and ongoing reforms to strengthen investment attractiveness.

The event comes as Togo steps up efforts to improve its business environment and attract foreign direct investment. For Lomé, the forum offers a major opportunity to highlight its logistical and commercial strengths, including its deep-water port and recent tax reforms, in a bid to expand partnerships with British investors.

Environmental authorities and partners in Lomé launched a workshop on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, to adopt a national action plan for managing plastic products and waste. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Environment, aims to establish a framework to address the severe health and environmental impacts of plastic use in Togo.

Official estimates show that more than two million plastic sachets are discarded daily across the country, while recycling remains minimal. This massive volume of unmanaged waste worsens soil and water pollution, increasing public exposure to environmental risks.

Meba Toyi, an environmental lawyer and head of the Climate Change Control division at the Directorate of the Environment, said the main challenge is adapting the legal framework to match the scale of pollution. An ongoing national inventory aims to measure how much plastic is produced and sent to landfills to better inform public policy.

Togo has gradually strengthened its plastic waste management since 2011 through several national and regional programs. The country also participates in an international project to build capacity in plastic management, supported by partners including the United Nations and USAID.

Colonel Dimizou Kofi, Secretary General of the Environment Ministry, reiterated the government’s commitment to advancing reforms toward a circular economy and a safer environment. Findings from the three-day workshop are expected Friday.

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On October 30, Paris hosted an international conference co-organized by France and Togo to advance peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region. The event brought together numerous heads of state and representatives from international organizations, including the United Nations.

The meeting was co-chaired by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé and French President Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Congolese President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi. Nearly 70 senior envoys from countries such as the United States, Qatar, Rwanda, Angola, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, and several European and Asian nations took part in the discussions.

Talks focused on addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Great Lakes region and establishing a framework for lasting peace. As the African Union’s appointed mediator in the Congolese conflict, Faure Gnassingbé called for a unified African strategy centered on development and reforming aid mechanisms.

“The humanitarian emergency now requires a durable and integrated response—and that response must be African,” he said. “Humanitarian aid should evolve into a development fund. Africa must take part in its own humanitarian effort, not only out of moral duty but also for dignity and effectiveness. Our states must co-finance the program.”

He also emphasized strengthening the role of regional bodies such as the African Union and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in managing the crisis. “The governance of this humanitarian response must also be African. Beyond financing, Africa must lead coordination, planning, and oversight,” he added.

Gnassingbé further stressed that lasting peace depends on economic justice and the recovery of territories affected by conflict and illegal resource exploitation. “By restoring a transparent and legitimate economy, we will cut off the flows that fund violence,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Togo’s initiative and endorsed Africa’s leadership in peacebuilding. “I want to emphasize how important African control is and how relevant President Faure’s approach is under the African Union’s mediation. We believe in this approach, as demanding as it may be,” Macron said.

Several districts in Togo’s southern Maritime region are stepping up flood prevention efforts. Late last week, early-action drills were held in roughly 20 communities across the Bas-Mono, Lacs, and Yoto prefectures.

The operation, jointly led by the National Civil Protection Agency (ANPC) and the Togolese Red Cross (CRT), aimed to test the effectiveness of early warning systems and the responsiveness of local crisis committees. It also helped pinpoint coordination gaps among the various actors managing climate emergencies.

“These exercises helped us assess how well emergency committees understand and carry out their roles, and to raise community awareness about prevention and response measures,” said Jean Kékéli Komivi Akrosu, the Togolese Red Cross’s Maritime Regional Coordinator.

The ANPC said the drills are part of efforts to strengthen community preparedness for extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly frequent in Togo. In response to more intense rainfall and higher flood risks, the government is stepping up efforts to better protect vulnerable areas.

Key projects include the RAINE initiative (“Sanitation Network for Flood Prevention”), which aims to permanently unclog flood-prone neighborhoods in Lomé and its surroundings. Under the WACA Togo Project, modern equipment worth over 500 million XOF was provided to the ANPC and the National Meteorological Agency (ANAMET) last August to reinforce the early warning system.

Togo also operates a national Flood Preparedness and Response Plan (PPR). In 2024, the plan allocated 50 million XOF in public funds, along with 1.69 billion XOF in external aid, primarily for logistics, training of local teams, and community awareness campaigns.

Esaïe Edoh