Togo’s National Coordination Committee for Health held its third annual meeting last week, on November 28. The session gathered various health stakeholders and partners who assessed the country’s achievements in the sector since the government launched its 2020-2025 roadmap. Health Minister Tchin Darré led the meeting.

Among other achievements underscored during the meeting, the Health Ministry noted improvements in health infrastructure and enhanced services at health centers. According to the ministry, initiatives like the SSEQCU (Essential Quality Health Services for Universal Health Coverage) project helped the country record these achievements. The SSEDCU received funding of CFA40 billion.

The participants also mentioned the Wezou initiative, which focused on maternal and newborn care. By the end of 2023, this project had benefited over 400,640 pregnant women and supported 221,802 deliveries. Wezou helped increase access to healthcare from 71% in 2020 to 90.7% in 2023.

Besides assessing Togo’s recent progress in health, last week’s meeting also helped map out the country’s technical and financial partners in this sector. The mapping process should help optimize resource mobilization for ongoing projects under the government's roadmap.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo has secured a €200 million partial credit guarantee (PCG) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support its first sustainable financing initiative. This move aligns Togo with other African nations like Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Rwanda, which have recently utilized this funding tool to finance green and social projects at lower costs.

The AfDB's Board of Directors approved the guarantee. The facility will help Togo raise funds from international banks on competitive terms, and these funds will help support key priority sectors outlined in Togo's Sustainable Financing Framework.

Validated by S&P in October 2024, the Togolese framework aims to direct investments toward environmentally friendly and socially responsible projects. It includes 14 categories of eligible expenditures across five climate and environmental areas and nine priority social sectors, targeting vulnerable populations.

These sectors include biodiversity preservation, climate change adaptation, sustainable agriculture, access to clean energy, education, digital inclusion, and social security.

Ahmed Attout, Director of Financial Sector Development at the AfDB Group, noted that this intervention would “ contribute to deepening financial markets through Togo's first-ever sustainable financing, as well as broadening and diversifying the country's investor base.” Wilfrid Abiola, head of the AfDB country office for Togo, added that this operation would “support Togo's structural transformation and economic diversification while creating decent jobs and strengthening the country's socio-economic resilience.”

Togo isn’t the only African nation to have secured the AfDB’s partial credit guarantee for sustainable projects. Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Rwanda also did. The first three secured €500 million (Benin, in 2021), €400 million, and €500 million (Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, in 2023). Rwanda secured €200 million earlier this year.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Togo is gearing up to attend the 2025 Osaka World Expo, in Japan. The country launched its promotional campaign on November 28, 2024, during the 19th International Fair of Lomé (FIL).

Togo’s pavilion at the Japanese event will showcase "made in Togo" products, and participating Togolese businesses will promote themselves and connect with international partners.

According to Alexandre de Souza, Managing Director of CETEF and Togo's Commissioner General for the coming Expo, the event will highlight technological achievements, innovation, culture, and future visions. For Togo, it will be an opportunity for dialogue and exchange, and it could yield strategic partnerships and enhance its international relations.

The Osaka World Expo will run for 184 days, from April 13 to October 13, 2025, under the theme: "Designing the society of the future, imagining our life of tomorrow." 

Togo also took part in the previous edition held in 2021 in Dubai.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo's 2025 budget is set at approximately 2,394 billion FCFA, up 9.9% from the 2024 budget of CFA2,179 billion. The Council of Ministers confirmed this projection during their meeting in Lomé on November 26, 2024.

Nearly half the budget will focus on the social sector, against 48% in 2024. Next year, Lomé will focus on key issues like insecurity, fostering social and economic inclusion, and supporting vulnerable populations. The main goal is to enhance citizen satisfaction while building on the successes of ongoing reforms.

The government will continue its public finance management reforms in 2025. These reforms aim to control the budget deficit, forecast at 3% of GDP in 2025, down from 6.7% in 2023 and 5.9% anticipated in 2024.

Togo's budget surpassed the CFA2,000 billion mark for the first time this year. The National Assembly will vote on this budget during its upcoming session.

Esaïe Edoh

 Togolese telco Togocom is now Yas. The firm announced its rebranding on November 26 in a press meeting. T-Money, Togocom's money transfer service, is now Mixx by Yas.

The rebranding falls under a strategy initiated by the pan-African Axian Telecom, which owns 51% of Togocom. 

According to Axian Telecom Group, the Yas brand was launched to unify operations across several countries including Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal, Togo, and Tanzania. In a press release, the group stated that “this new identity aims to foster synergies between markets, simplify operations, share best practices, and optimize costs while offering a harmonized and borderless customer experience.”

Togocom's transition to Yas includes a new visual identity and an updated commercial offering. A new website was launched to reflect this change and provide a modern digital platform.

Alongside rebranding, Axian Telecom Group reorganized its activities in Togo, particularly in mobile financial services. Since October 2024, the mobile money service has been independently managed by Tmoney S.A., a new entity created in April with a capital of CFA1 billion. This entity, now called Mixx by Yas, focuses solely on mobile money transfer and management solutions.

Esaïe Edoh

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has inaugurated a documentation center at the University of Lomé to support education and research. The center opened on November 26, alongside the signing of a cooperation agreement with five Togolese higher education institutions.

The new center is designed to assist teachers, researchers, and students in their academic work. It provides access to over 7,000 books, 55 specialized and general magazine titles, and advanced digital resources.

The center includes access to the ChatGPT-4 application for personalized searches. Users can also borrow documents.

The facility includes a reading room, a multimedia room for digital work, a secure document collection area, and a multi-purpose room for events like workshops and webinars. This initiative is part of BOAD's Djoliba 2021-2025 strategic plan for inclusive development. 

Currently, the center is available to teachers and students at five partner institutions: the University of Lomé, École nationale d'administration (ENA), Université catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UCAO), Institut régional d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en développement culturel (IRES-RDEC), and École supérieure d'audit et de management (ESAM). Access will eventually expand to the general public.

The center also aligns with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly target 16.10, which aims to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.

Esaïe Edoh

India was Togo’s top export destination in Q3 2024, with 20.1% of total exports valued at CFA42.9 billion. 

According to Togo’s Statistics Institute, INSEED, Burkina Faso came second, with 13.7% of exports, valued at CFA29.2 billion. Côte d'Ivoire followed with 9.6% and CFA20.4 billion, in share and value. 

This trend highlights Togo's strong connections with its neighboring countries, being a transshipment point for various subregional partners. 

Togo’s top 10 customers accounted for 81.4% of its export value. These include Mali, France, Ghana, and Benin. Togolese exports stood at CFA213 billion in Q3 2024. They primarily comprised rock phosphates and derivatives, petroleum oils, and plastic bags.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group, announced on November 25 a €506 million ($535 million) guarantee to support sustainable development in West Africa through the West African Development Bank (BOAD). This funding will back loans from Société Générale (France) and HSBC (UK) to BOAD for projects focused on energy transition and climate adaptation in eight countries within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), including Togo.

Sustainable climate projects

The MIGA's guarantee allows BOAD to allocate 50% of the loan to climate finance, with 30% specifically for adaptation initiatives over the next five years. These projects will cover resilient infrastructure, renewable energy, green housing, and agriculture adapted to climate risks.

Strengthening the resilience of BOAD member countries

As the region's financing institution, the BOAD is a key advocate of economic integration and sustainability in West Africa. "This guarantee product represents a particularly innovative initiative. It will actively support the financing of projects with a strong environmental and social impact, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable development and social responsibility," said BOAD President, Serge Ekue.

On MIGA's side, Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of MIGA stated that "this project reflects our commitment to supporting climate change financing in low-income countries and addressing key development challenges. We are convinced that our guarantee will catalyze further investments in the transition to a green economy and create new green jobs.”

This new facility should enable the Lomé-based development bank to allocate more resources to green projects amid a financing gap and growing climate challenges in public discussions.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi