Bank of Africa (BOA) gets $60 million funding from IFC to support SMEs in eight African countries, Togo included

Banking

Thursday, 07 June 2018 17:23

Bank of Africa (BOA) gets $60 million funding from IFC to support SMEs in eight African countries, Togo included

(Togo First) - World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, promised last Monday a $60 million financing to the Bank of Africa group (BOA).

This facility will be used to cover half of risks on a $120 million loan portfolio targeting SMEs across eight African nations, including Togo.

Half of the funds will be allocated to women-led businesses, and projects fighting global warming.

IFC’s director for Africa, Oumar Seydi said “the facility will help BOA grant more than 5,000 loans, over the next five years, to SMEs that actually have difficulties securing loans”.

Let it be noted that the financing could not have been possible without the support of the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity (WEOF) which was initiated by IFC via its Banking on Women program. Beside Togo, other countries that will benefit from the funds are Burkina, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania.

BOA-Togo, let it be recalled, is the group’s 16th subsidiary and it started operating in 2013.

At end-2016, the bank which is detained by BOA West Africa (+94% stake) had more than CFA117 billion worth of assets, CFA32 billion of deposits, CFA55 billion of customer debts and 10 branches across Togo.

The Bank of Africa Group’s major stakeholder is the Moroccan lender BMCE Bank which detains 72% of the group’s shareholding.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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.