Togo: the 2nd edition of AFIS Summit begins in Lomé

Finance

Monday, 28 November 2022 19:26

Togo: the 2nd edition of AFIS Summit begins in Lomé

(Togo First) - The Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbé, launched the second edition of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) today, Nov. 28. The two-day event is being held in Lomé and it is the first time it takes place physically.

Over 600 decision-makers from the African finance industry are attending the summit. These include central bank governors (of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, the BCEAO, etc.), ministers, regulators, bankers, CEOs of Fintechs, banks, and insurance companies (Equity Group, Ecobank, BOA Group, SANLAM, NSIA, etc.), and financial actors. They will discuss several topics such as agricultural finance, exchange interconnection, mobile money, climate finance, AfCFTA, cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, and Basel III issues, among others.

According to the organizers of the event which is sponsored by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the AFIS should “allow African industry leaders to contribute to the continent’s economic recovery through the development of a competitive, innovative, inclusive, and sustainable financial industry.”

Amir Ben Yamed, Director of Jeune Afrique Media Group, which is one of the organizers, claims that seeking financial sovereignty must be a priority for Africa. He believes the continent should put its financial industry under the international spotlight. This is an opinion shared by Sergio Pimenta, Vice President, IFC. Pimenta even added that African banks must take over the financing of African trade, in a context where the latter has an annual deficit of nearly $90 billion.

For President Gnassingbe, however, the future of African finance will be built through a tight collaboration between the governments and the private sector, especially given the current global crises–the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic, notably.

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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.