Togo: President Faure Gnassingbé redefines the role of the State in supporting the private sector.
Lomé, the capital of the Togolese state, would like to become a financial Singapore of West Africa. The 2022 edition of the Africa Financial Industrial Summit (AFIS) opened on Monday 28 November 2022 in Lomé with the inauguration of the President of the Republic, H.E Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, the President of the National Assembly and several members of the Government.
The architect of Togo’s revival as a financial and logistical hub for West Africa, the highlight of the opening ceremony will be the speech by President Faure Gnassingbé. Indeed, this meeting is dedicated to African finance. Thus, for Lomé, hosting such a meeting is a way to gain visibility and strengthen Togo’s image in banking and financial services.
Addressing the global context in 2022, an oil barrel increased from 22 to 100 dollars on average and the key rate of the FED now expected to 4.5% at the end of 2022 against a rate initially expected by the most pessimistic financiers of 0, 75%, the Togolese President believes that Africa will have to get out of it by quality investments, the foundation of development.
“The State is your best ally”, the Head of State told the hundreds of investors and bankers present in the amphitheatre of the Hôtel 2 Février. “Also, in Togo, we are working relentlessly to offer quality projects in our 2025 roadmap”. And President Faure Gnassingbé insisted on the role of the State as arbiter in this major turning point of the energy transition, between the positive results of the investment and the constraints on the environment.
Indeed, it is a question of making the African financial sector a world-class industry. To take advantage of the FTAA, to fuel growth and transformation of the financial sector; and finally to boost financial inclusion and ensure sustainable financing of economies.
For President Faure Gnassingbé, African finance must remain attentive to the prospects of sustainable finance. He backed up his remarks with a figure: 36,000 billion dollars. This is the current amount of ESG bonds outstanding worldwide. It should be remembered that Africa is currently attracting only 1% of this windfall.
As a Head of State trained in the school of pragmatism and experienced in strategic intelligence, the Togolese Head of State delivered a fairly comprehensive speech on the major trends in the global financial markets seen through the prism of African issues. In short, he came to a major conclusion: public policies are the ally of innovative projects. “Together, public and private, we will be able to revolutionise the finance sector”.
