Togo keeps improving financial inclusion performances

Finance

Thursday, 29 September 2022 13:56

Togo keeps improving financial inclusion performances

(Togo First) - Financial inclusion keeps improving in Togo. This is shown in a report that was published on September 28, 2022, by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The document is titled "Tableau de bord l'Inclusion financière dans l'UEMOA au titre de l'année 2021" (Financial Inclusion Scoreboard in WAEMU for the year 2021).

According to the Central Bank, Togo’s strict bancarisation rate (the number of natural persons holding deposit or credit accounts in banks, postal services, savings banks, and the Treasury, as a proportion of the adult population) rose from 27% in 2020 to 30.1% in 2021, an annual increase of 11%.

Regarding the broad bancarisation rate, which takes into account financial services in the broad sense such as mobile money accounts and microfinance, it rose from 80% in 2020 to 84.2% last year, according to the same source.

Over the same period, the overall demographic penetration rate of financial services, which measures the total number of financial service outlets in the country as a proportion of the adult population, increased from 50% to 67%.

For Togo, this marks an evolution in financial inclusion over the decade. According to the BCEAO, the synthetic index of financial inclusion has more than tripled in ten years, rising from 0.204 to 0.626 in 2021.

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In the country, this positive trend is driven by several mechanisms, including postal services (Eco CCP in particular), mobile money, mobile banking, and the democratization of microfinance companies. The National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI) also played a role in the shift. Since it launched, about half a decade ago, the Fund gave out over CFA100 billion in loans, covering about 1.7 million beneficiaries who had to open accounts.

Earlier this month, the Togolese government announced the creation of an observatory on the quality of financial services to "support and encourage the progress noted" in terms of financial inclusion.

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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.