
Togo


- Strengthening the education system
- Developing the energy sector
- Improving water and sanitation services
- Supporting the financial and banking sector
Strengthening the education system
Developing the energy sector
Improving water and sanitation services
Supporting the financial and banking sector
Togo is one of the smallest countries in West Africa and has 7.5 million inhabitants. While the coastal region and central highlands are densely populated and suffer from recurrent flooding, the North remains apart, is dry, underserved and underdeveloped.
Following a protracted political crisis, which lasted 15 years (1990-2005), the country saw a return to growth back in 2008, in particular thanks to help from donors.
Togo is a mainly rural country, with 65% of the working population employed in agriculture. It also relies heavily on its phosphate mines. The creation of a free zone at the Port of Lomé has turned this small State into a bustling port platform, which is very important for regional operators.
Togo now needs to face several challenges: while education has made significant strides, the population, which is very young, suffers from underemployment and unemployment. In addition, while poverty has declined, it still affects over 50% of Togo’s population. AFD has been operating in Lomé since 1957. It initially focused its activity on the basic needs of populations: access to water and school. Togo is one of the priority poor countries for French aid and AFD is one of the only donors to have remained in the country during the crisis. Since 2010, AFD has extended its scope of action and has implemented activities in the private sector, with the aim of boosting growth and employment, and in energy. It operates via grants, guarantees to facilitate access to financing (ARIZ), loans to banks and companies and, since 2017, via loans to the Togolese State.
AFD's Togo office is directly attached to the Guf of Guinea regional office in Abidjan.