Ten Student Teams Advance in Togo’s “Student Tech Pulse” Innovation Program

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Monday, 24 November 2025 07:12

Ten Student Teams Advance in Togo’s “Student Tech Pulse” Innovation Program

(Togo First) - The CERSA center at the University of Lomé hosted the interuniversity round of the “Student Tech Pulse” program on Saturday, November 22, 2025. The event marks a new milestone for the initiative, which is led by Dagba with support from IYBA-Seed Togo, a European Union–funded program that promotes youth and women’s entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa.

The competition brought together teams from several universities, selected after a first round of on-campus pitches. The projects presented covered sectors such as agri-food, agritech, digital education, travel and robotics.

“We wanted to identify projects within universities and support them in order to build a strong pipeline of projects to present to our partners, who are investors looking to fund small businesses in Togo,” said Brice Tchendo, founder and CEO of the Dagba accelerator.

The student teams were evaluated by a panel of entrepreneurship professionals, who assessed the relevance of each initiative and its potential to be deployed in a developing market.

“We believe it is essential to reinforce initiatives that encourage young people to start businesses, particularly young intellectuals who represent a key driver of the country’s development,” said Massémé Gagnon, Project Manager at IYBA-Seed Togo.

Ten Teams Selected for Next Round

Ten teams were selected for the next phase. They will take part in a national bootcamp in Kpalimé in January. The training will help strengthen their business models, advance their prototyping and prepare them for upcoming discussions with investors and business angels. According to Brice Tchendo, the aim is to develop a pipeline of projects capable of attracting funding active in Togo while fostering a stronger entrepreneurial culture within universities.

The approach is part of a broader strategy. IYBA-Seed Togo, implemented in five pilot countries, supports organizations that promote youth entrepreneurship. An assessment carried out at the program’s launch identified the university environment as a priority because of students’ innovation potential and academic level.

The ten selected projects are: “Pain de banane” (Institut Supérieur Monseigneur BAKPESSI de Kara), “Irrigation et apport nutritif automatisés” (University of Kara), “World Atlas Travel” (DEFITECH), “AGNIGBAN GNA” (ESCEN), “Afro Explorer AI” (IAEC), “SmartFarm Energy AI” (University of Lomé), “SMARTEDUC” (ESCEN), “AGRILA” (ESAG NDE), “MYLOOPS” (ESGIS) and “Bras robotique” (ESIG Global Success).

According to the organizers, the finalists will receive support for several months before a final pitch event next year in front of investors.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.