The World Bank has unveiled its 2024 report on Women, Business, and the Law in Lomé

Economic governance

Monday, 11 March 2024 17:44

The World Bank has unveiled its 2024 report on Women, Business, and the Law in Lomé

(Togo First) - The World Bank Group launched its 2024 report "Women, Business and the Law" in Lomé on March 8, on International Women's Day. The launch was attended by World Bank Vice President Ousmane Diagana, Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency Sandra Ablamba Johnson, and several officials.

The new report focuses on existing gender-equal laws, frameworks facilitating their implementation, and expert opinions. It assessed 10 indicators: security, mobility, work, pay, marriage, parenthood, childcare, entrepreneurship, assets, and retirement.

The report indicates that "No country in the world guarantees equal opportunities for women, not even the wealthiest economies." It found that on average, women enjoy only 64% of the legal protection afforded to men, across the 190 economies assessed.

The Bank emphasized its commitment to closing gender gaps. Its new gender action plan for West and Central Africa "focuses on empowering women and finding the best ways to address the challenges hindering women's full development," said Ousmane Diagana.

Togo stood out positively in the World Bank's new report. The West African country scored the highest among sub-Saharan African economies studied, with 97.5 points, a 15.6-point increase compared to a year earlier.

With a score exceeding the African average of 74 out of 100, Togo ranks 1st in Africa out of 53 countries and 19th globally out of 190 countries. The coastal country is surpassed only by certain Western states, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, with perfect scores of 100 out of 100.

"This impressive performance reflects the significant progress made by the country in gender equality across several key areas and once again confirms Togo's reformist status," emphasized Sandra Johnson.

This achievement is attributed to reforms implemented by Togolese authorities in areas such as paternity, marriage, entrepreneurship, and access to assets. Notably, a series of laws have been passed to amend the family code, penal code, and labor code, bringing about beneficial improvements and major changes for women.

Esaïe Edoh

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.