Togo: Faure Gnassingbé promises to provide at least 20% of public procurements to young entrepreneurs

Economic governance

Wednesday, 24 January 2018 11:02

Togo: Faure Gnassingbé promises to provide at least 20% of public procurements to young entrepreneurs

(Togo First) - In its New Year’s message, President Faure Gnassingbé has promised to award 20% of public procurements to young local entrepreneurs. “I plan to set aside up to 20% of public procurements to young entrepreneurs and women, who by the way will benefit from simplified procedures,” the president said.

This commitment aligns with the government’s will to boost socio-economic inclusion of youth in the country, as entrepreneurship is expanding.

“Togo’s youth, whose dynamism and involvement must be supported, will be at the center of the State’s actions. I am convinced that the answers to the issues of education, employment and youth insertion will be found by the youth themselves, through their contributions and thinking,” noted Faure Gnassingbé.

Expectations for the commitment are high, in Lomé especially. Ismaël Tanko, managing director Togo Timati, quoted by TogoTopInfos, said in this regard: “We are excited about this promise given that, if this measure, which is already in the SME/SMI charter, is concretized, it would be a true breath of air for young entrepreneurs and an additional mean to promote enterprises and local products. Moreover, the measure will push young entrepreneurs, desiring to benefit from it but who still operate in the informal sector, to regularize their business, subsequently generating tax income.

For some months now, Togolese government has implemented multiple measures to attract both local and foreign investors such as in the case of the card, the recent cancellation of minimum capital for LLC. Impacts of this decision are much anticipated during this quarter.

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.