Togo seeks to become West Africa's financial hub with new infrastructure ventures

June 15, 2015 Togo, is a relatively small country but this has not stopped the West African country from having tall dreams, some clear to see when you encounter the nation’s capital, Lome. Togo’s bid to become the prime economic hub for West Africa, has motivated the country to begin strings of road and building construction in the country. 2 very obvious features of the capital are  pan-African bank, Ecobank and regional airline, Asky, which was launched five years ago.

Gervais Djondo, co-founder of Ecobank and founder, CEO of ASKY believes the successes of his businesses are a testament to the power of the African dream, he says “Togo is a country which at some point was known as the Switzerland of Africa. It is all a question of will. There has been the political will from politicians to support those who want to achieve something,”

Togo‘s infrastructure expansions and services hub are modeled on countries like Dubai and Singapore, and the better security in the country’s waters make it a preferred destination for ships away from neighboring countries who have to contend with the threat of pirates. According to World Bank‘s 2015 Doing Business report, Togo rose 15 places on the year before, showing that the country’s reforms are starting to pay off.  

Stephane Akaya, an economic analyst says “Togo‘s human development index went from 0.4 to 0.5 percent last year, and as a result, we think that Togo is well positioned to become a regional hub, meaning that it can become a country on which West Africa can rely on to play an important role geopolitically as well as on the international stage,”

Interesting, very quietly working to reform and transform. Keep going Togo!