The African Development Bank Group has conducted a comprehensive performance review of its 2025 portfolio in Togo, bringing together government officials, project managers and beneficiaries to assess the progress of ongoing initiatives and identify ways to further enhance performance.
The review, which took place in Lome from 22 - 26 September, was an important joint monitoring exercise between the Bank Group and the Togolese government. At the conclusion of the various working sessions, a wrap-up workshop was held. Presided over by Wilfrid Abiola, head of the Bank Group's country office in Togo, and Stéphane Akaya, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the workshop brought together more than 80 participants,
Measuring impact in key sectors
The review highlighted significant achievements in infrastructure development, agricultural productivity, institutional governance, and access to essential social services. The results underscore how strategic development financing can catalyse transformative change.
The Bank Group's interventions in the energy sector have helped expand access to electricity throughout Togo, rising from 58.7% of the population in 2021 to 68% in 2023 and 70% in 2024. These gains have improved living conditions for millions and contributed to the country's economic growth.
Agricultural programmes funded by the Bank Group have had a significant impact on key sectors, including rice, maize, soy, sesame, broiler chicken and cashew nuts. Maize productivity increased by 67%, rising from 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2020 to two tonnes per hectare in 2022, while 22,620 farmers obtained access to input financing, with women representing 25% of beneficiaries. The farmer financing programme exceeded its 2026 of 10,000 farmers halfway through its implementation period.
By supporting the modernization of the Lomé port container terminal and regional road projects, the African Development Bank Group is helping to position Togo as a logistics platform in West Africa. Border crossing times between Togo and Ghana have reduced from ten hours to just two-and -half hours, while transit time between Abidjan and Lagos has dropped from six days to 2.42 days. These improvements have contributed to the creation of 20,000 jobs, 95% of which have gone to women, while one hundred entrepreneurs have been trained, with half of them being youth and a third being women.
A partial credit guarantee project valued at 131 billion CFA francs (approximately 200 million euros) represents nearly 40% of the Bank Group's active portfolio in Togo, enabling the country to mobilize additional resources from capital markets and private commercial banks.
Despite these advances, the portfolio performance review identified several implementation challenges requiring urgent attention. These include the poor performance of Project Management Units (PMUs), excessive delays in signing mission aide-memoires, and the need to streamline project amounts and the number of PMUs.
A high turnover of staff in project management positions, as well recurring delays and complaints within project teams at the country level have further complicated the execution of projects and programs funded by the Bank Group. "Delays in project execution set the country back in its efforts toward sustainable development, thus penalizing the populations targeted by development interventions," said the Secretary General of Togo's Ministry of Economy and Finance, Stéphane Akaya.
The review concluded with the establishment of a new Country Performance Improvement Plan (CPIP 2025), designed to address the identified challenges and improve portfolio management.
Country Office head, Abiola emphasized that the implementation of the review's recommendations would strengthen efficiency and transparency in project management and stressed the need to raise the capacity of Togo to absorb and deploy development financing.
The Togo mission took place within the framework of the African Development Bank Group's policy dialogue with the country, regarding the completion of its Interim Country Strategy 2021-2026 and the outlining of intervention priorities from 2026 onward. The review was organized in collaboration with the Bank Group's Togo country office and several key departments managing co-financed projects.
