Togo continues to confirm its geostrategic position within the Commonwealth for the promotion of public-private partnerships and economic development in Africa. On the joint initiative of the Togolese and British governments, Lomé hosted the fourth United Kingdom-West and Central Francophone Africa Forum (UK-WCAF IV) on this theme, entitled “Success breeds success.”
The opening ceremony of this business meeting was presided over by the President of the Council, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, in the presence of the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Francophone Africa, Ben Coleman, Head of West and Central Africa for UK Export Finance (UKEF), Steven Gray Obe, and political and administrative authorities. The event brought together more than 600 decision-makers, investors, and representatives of public and private institutions from the United Kingdom and several African countries.
The President of the Council said he was honored and delighted by the strong turnout and by Togo’s selection as the host country for this forum, the first of its kind in the continent’s history. He emphasized the symbolic and strategic significance of this event, which once again demonstrates the confidence and recognition of an Africa on the move, as well as the quality of the new partnership between Togo and the Commonwealth.
“This is the first time that this forum has been held on African soil, and it is not just a simple geographical shift. It is a symbolic shift: that of the center of gravity of a partnership that is now more deeply rooted in the African reality, in its energy, in its youth, and in its ambition,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of this distinction for Togo and for Africa, the Chairman of the Council said that “this choice reflects the confidence and recognition of an Africa that is no longer just a market, but a full partner. It also illustrates the new and dynamic relationship that has developed between Togo and the Commonwealth since 2022.”
On this occasion, he shared with representatives of the Commonwealth and the private sector five simple convictions that reflect Togo’s vision for this renewed partnership between the United Kingdom and French-speaking Africa.
A new chapter in the partnership between the United Kingdom and French-speaking Africa
The President of the Council emphasized that holding this event in Lomé marks the beginning of a new chapter in the partnership between the United Kingdom and French-speaking Africa. He recalled that both parties now share the same ambition: “to move from a relationship of assistance based on donations to genuine economic relations, built on exchange, investment, value creation, and complementary expertise.”
To this end, the Chairman of the Council presented the assets and investment opportunities that both parties can leverage to make this partnership more dynamic and mutually beneficial. On the African side, he highlighted the continent’s youth, natural resources, and potential for innovation. With regard to the United Kingdom’s assets and opportunities, the President of the Council emphasized the expertise, technology, and capital that the country can contribute.
According to the President of the Council, Togo, with its rich natural potential, dynamic human capital, economic openness, ambitious reforms to improve the business climate, political stability, and ongoing commitment to peace and subregional integration, is strategically positioned at the intersection of these two worlds.
The country thus embodies a modern, confident, and connected Africa that is opening up, connecting, and aspiring to equitable, sustainable cooperation based on shared and inclusive value creation.
“With our deep-water port, pro-investment reforms, political stability, and exemplary regional engagement, our country has become one of the main points of convergence between Africa and the rest of the world.”
Beyond economic ambition, the President of the Council expressed his desire to see this forum become a genuine space for dialogue, consultation, and shared vision, aimed at breaking down language barriers and removing economic barriers in order to build solid bridges of prosperity between the United Kingdom and French-speaking Africa.
Faire des infrastructures, des leviers de souveraineté, de croissance et de compétitivité
L’une des ambitions majeures de ce partenariat est de faire des infrastructures des leviers de souveraineté, de croissance et de compétitivité pour l’Afrique francophone, en privilégiant des projets mieux conçus, mieux financés et mieux intégrés.
« Il s’agit d’investir pour produire, pas seulement de construire », a déclaré le Président du Conseil. Selon lui, les infrastructures ne sont pas de simples dépenses, mais de véritables investissements stratégiques. Construire un port, une route, une ligne électrique ou un réseau numérique n’a de sens que si ces travaux permettent aux entreprises locales de produire, de transformer et d’exporter davantage.
Pour le Président du Conseil, les infrastructures utiles sont celles qui relient le champ au marché, le producteur à la transformation, l’idée à l’innovation. Et c’est cette vision qui guide le Togo dans ses initiatives de modernisation et de développement économique.
La modernisation du Port de Lomé, le développement des corridors logistiques, ainsi que des réseaux énergétiques et numériques, positionnent le Togo comme un hub régional dynamique, capable de jouer un rôle clé dans les chaînes de valeur mondiales.
Le Président du Conseil a également invité les partenaires britanniques à investir dans ces infrastructures productives, qui soutiennent la transformation industrielle en Afrique.
“We invite our British partners to invest with us in these productive infrastructures that support African industrial transformation and create local value, so that investment in concrete becomes investment in development.”
This approach illustrates Togo’s desire to combine economic growth, innovation, and international cooperation, while strengthening its strategic position in West Africa.
Bringing local actors into value chains
Continuing his reflection on the levers of development, the President of the Council emphasized the importance of building growth from the bottom up, by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promoting the creativity of young people and the boldness of entrepreneurs. He stressed that it is essential to give African entrepreneurs, young people, and women their rightful place in order to strengthen innovation and inclusion in value chains:
“Development cannot be decreed, it is built from the bottom up, in the fabric of small and medium-sized enterprises, in the creativity of young people and in the boldness of entrepreneurs. African entrepreneurs, young people and women must be given their rightful place here.”
It is clear that this forum aims to be a platform for an Africa that undertakes, innovates, and transforms. The Chairman of the Board reassured partners of the ability of African SMEs to cross a new threshold by actively participating in regional and global integration, particularly in key sectors such as agribusiness, digital technology, and services.
To achieve this goal, he said, these companies do not so much need assistance as smart partnerships, but rather easier access to capital, training, and technology partnerships. In this dynamic, the UK can, according to the President, play a key role in this ecosystem by supporting patient investment and connecting incubators and innovation funds.
“Investing in African SMEs today is the most profitable bet on the future of the continent,” he concluded, reaffirming the strategic importance of economic cooperation based on sharing expertise and supporting local players.
Green growth, digital revolution, and regional integration: the pillars of the economic future of French-speaking Africa
To ensure a bright future for the continent, the President of the Council identified two forces capable of transforming economies in a sustainable way: clean energy and digital innovation, which he considers to be the major drivers of African prosperity.
He emphasized the dual green and digital transition, which represents an opportunity for many African countries to make a technological leap forward, bypassing decades of industrial dependence and inventing more sober, inclusive, and intelligent models. In this regard, British partners can support Africa in directly building the economy of tomorrow.
However, the President of the Council insisted that this transformation must remain above all human-centered, because “every investment in a solar farm, fintech, or smart city must also be an investment in youth employment, women’s access to economic opportunities, and social cohesion.” “In an increasingly unstable world, sustainability is no longer a luxury: it is our new economic and moral frontier,” he added.
Making subregional integration the driving force behind an African market open to the world
Finally, the President of the Council highlighted the regional integration of French-speaking Africa as the driving force behind an African market open to the world. In his view, the success of the forum will depend on the ability of stakeholders to think beyond national borders, as country-by-country development no longer makes much sense.
“Regional integration is our best tool for global success,” he said, before emphasizing that British investment in French-speaking Africa will only be sustainable if it is based on interconnected regional chains and logistics and industrial platforms linking several French- and English-speaking markets.
These interconnections, he noted, are the real infrastructure of the future, levers for development that are fully in line with Togo’s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which offers 1.4 billion consumers and the world’s largest emerging market.
The realization of these ambitions depends on the opening of regional growth corridors, connecting both French-speaking and English-speaking markets, such as the Lomé-Lagos-Accra-Abidjan corridor.
To make this integration a reality, the President of the Council also emphasized the need for regulatory harmonization, trade facilitation, procedural simplification, and the creation of predictable conditions for investors. For the President, administrative fluidity and regulatory transparency are the invisible infrastructure of modern trade that African economies need.
By hosting this forum, Lomé wishes to embody an open, connected, and confident Africa that is no longer content to trade with the United Kingdom, but chooses to grow with it.
The President of the Council called on British partners to invest not only in traditional infrastructure, but also in the frontiers of African growth, the green economy, local processing of critical raw materials, digital finance, and creative industries.
He made a solemn appeal to British partners, inviting them to join Africa in a partnership focused on the future and innovation.
« We call on our British partners to look to the future with us: to invest not only in traditional infrastructure, but also in the frontiers of African growth, in the green economy, local processing of critical raw materials, digital finance, and creative industries. Together, we can create value chains that connect London to Lomé, Yaoundé to Birmingham, Dakar to Manchester. Together, we will transform our resources into wealth, our projects into prosperity, and our cooperation into a shared future. »
Mr. Ben Coleman, the British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Francophone Africa, political and administrative authorities, and Mr. Steven Gray Obe, Head of West and Central Africa for UK Export Finance (UKEF), took turns outlining the challenges addressed by this forum. They congratulated the President of the Council for his strategic vision and ongoing commitment to economic development, regional cooperation, and strengthening the partnership between Africa and the Commonwealth.
The opening ceremony featured a high-level panel discussion entitled “Realizing the Government’s Priorities.”
It was also marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Togo and the United Kingdom aimed at strengthening the exchange of expertise and know-how in the fields of the digital economy, agriculture, and human capital.
The forum’s work continues with several country sessions devoted in particular to Togo, Cameroon, Senegal, Benin, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, and Congo.
The program also includes networking lunches and round tables on key topics such as access to capital, the trade regime for developing countries (DCTS), and economic partnership agreements (EPAs).
