By Chanel Retief, Nicole Pillay and Oluwatomisin Amokeoja Art Direction: Manelisi Dabata Videography: Thabo Mathebula Photography: Katlego Mokubyane ; Assistant: Sbusiso Sigidi | Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg  Styling: Deneal Van Wyk Hair &amp; Makeup: SnehhOnline Beauty



Africa’s biggest economies often churn out startups on a regular basis and some of these businesses go on to become key players in the growth of the continent. But what of Africa’s smaller, emerging economies? 



According to a 2023 report by Africa: The Big Deal, 29% of the startups that raised $100,000 or more in 2023 were located outside the big four regions, namely Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Egypt. Donaldson Sackey, a former international footballer-turned-entrepreneur from Togo (a narrow strip of land in Africa’s West coast), who has helmed a fashion business and now has interests in fintech and energy, says that being a serial entrepreneur in one of Africa’s smaller economies has its pros and cons.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="682" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-682x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62281" style="width:399px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-682x1024.jpg 682w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-768x1153.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Forbes_Cover3527.jpg 1478w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Donaldson Sackey</figcaption></figure></div>


“On the one hand, there is often a sense of possibility and economic potential, as smaller economies might provide niches that have yet to be completely explored or tapped into. However, in some smaller economies, regulations may be unclear or inconsistently enforced, making it Sackeychallenging to understand what is required to operate legally and comply with regulations. 



Despite the hurdles, becoming a serial entrepreneur in a tiny economy may be quite rewarding.” Therein exists massive opportunities to create significant impact on the local economy. 



“I believe that as a growing entrepreneur, you have a lot of ideas in your daily life, but the most important thing is to actually understand them and put them into action. You must understand that you are in it for the long-term and that it will not become the largest company overnight.



”Sackey says he is now involved in coaching aspiring business owners, and is committed to education, particularly in the field of technology. 



“I think that young people in Africa, and particularly in Togo, are intelligent and creative, but there are often gaps in their educational opportunities, so I provide them with the knowledge I have gained from my courses, many of which are offered online to learn more about various business sectors.”

Sustainable data pie chart

Footballer-Turned-Entrepreneur From Togo On Making It Work In Africa’s Smaller Economies

Following a $150 million aid for Togo&#8217;s development in September, the World Bank and the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) Group are partnering to support farmers in Togo and other West African nations. They formalized this collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Marrakech. Citizens are calling for transparency and efficient execution.



The World Bank and the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) Group have announced a partnership to support farmers in Togo and other West African and Sahelian countries.



OCP Chairman Mostafa Terrab and World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa Ousmane Diagana formalized this collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in Marrakech, a city located in western Morocco.



This development follows the World Bank&#8217;s inaugural operation of Togo&#8217;s new Development Policy Financing series ($150 million) in September.



Aligned with commitments in the Lomé Declaration endorsed by member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in May, this latest partnership aims to benefit five million farmers in Togo, Guinea, Mali, and Benin, covering 10 million hectares. Areas of cooperation include improving soil health and fertility, establishing agricultural technology and service centers, launching a Digital Farming School program, strengthening ECOWAS capacity, and supporting the establishment of a Regional Center for Soil Health and Fertility Management in West Africa hosted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).



Under this partnership, both institutions reaffirm their commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG2 on hunger and food security, and SDG13 on climate change.



According to Terrab: &#8220;These projects are an important step towards unlocking Africa’s potential in global food security.&#8221; He added, &#8220;The goal is to drive a just and sustainable agricultural transition, widening access for West African farmers to customized fertilizers that nourish the soil and improve crop yields, enhancing farmers&#8217; livelihoods and contributing to African development and prosperity.&#8221;



Diagana emphasized: &#8220;Both our institutions believe in accelerating investments and reforms to support resilient agriculture that promotes sustainable development and creates jobs. This partnership between the World Bank and the OCP Group is turning the Lomé Declaration into action.&#8221;



The World Bank&#8217;s economic overview of Togo highlights challenges since the Covid-19 pandemic, including headwinds from the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, slowing external demand, tighter financing conditions, and regional instability. Togo&#8217;s government response involved increased public spending to stabilize growth, but vulnerable populations have felt the impact. The partnership between the World Bank and the OCP Group aligns with Togo&#8217;s efforts to address these challenges, focusing on key areas of cooperation for sustainable development.



In response to the announcement, Togolese entrepreneur Paul Mensah shares his sentiments with FORBES AFRICA, foreseeing a positive impact on the nation&#8217;s growth through this support.



&#8220;As a Togolese, it&#8217;s heartening to witness the World Bank&#8217;s commitment to our country&#8217;s economic progress,&#8221; says Mensah, emphasizing the importance of robust financial support in propelling the nation forward.



The financing, dedicated to supporting the government&#8217;s roadmap and enhancing food security, is viewed by Mensah as a crucial step toward addressing key challenges facing Togo&#8217;s economy.



&#8220;Food security is undeniably a cornerstone of economic development. The World Bank&#8217;s focus on this aspect aligns with the fundamental needs of our nation. It is a welcome development,&#8221; Mensah remarks, highlighting the significance of ensuring a stable and sustainable food supply for Togo.



While expressing his satisfaction with the World Bank&#8217;s initiative, Mensah also urges the Togolese government to play an active role in ensuring the effective implementation of the outlined roadmap.



&#8220;The success of these financial interventions hinges on the government&#8217;s commitment to transparent and efficient execution. I am hopeful that our leaders will prioritize the effective utilization of these funds for the benefit of our nation,&#8221; he states.



Mensah&#8217;s sentiment reflects a broader hope within the Togolese community that this injection of funds will catalyze positive change and contribute to the nation&#8217;s overall economic prosperity.

Member of a women’s cooperative carrying buckets to water a field in Karsome, Togo.

Sustainable Farming In Togo: World Bank’s Financial Injection And OCP Collaboration

As the sun beat down on the roof of a community center in the tiny Togolese village of Wome, the staffers of SunPower Afrique rushed to put on sunscreen. The rays were a reminder that their latest project—the system of solar panels being nailed to the building’s roof—is hot in more ways than one.
<div id="attachment_271" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-271" class="size-medium wp-image-271" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Herman-shoot-and-Togo-095-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" />Solar panels power a building in Kpalime</div>
The area around Kpalime, Togo’s second-largest city, is hardly the obvious site for a solar energy revolution. SunPower’s business technique—matching solar customers with small microfinance lenders is taking root. The city, tucked into a verdant corner of Togo, is becoming a model for a new energy infrastructure in a country known for its frustrating power shortages.
“Togo has a really strong microfinance community,” says Kira Costanza, SunPower’s founder. “It has more microfinance institutions than other countries. The largest obstacle to solar is the high initial cost”—which can run into the thousands of dollars for just a few panels— “and being able to get a loan.”
The 27-year-old Kira Costanza, the American daughter of a solar engineer, started SunPower in 2007 after living in Kpalime and watching the city and its surrounding villages live with energy shortages. Cuts in the city can stretch from 15 to 24 hours.
War in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, an energy provider, has also cut Togo’s supply. FECECAV, the Kpalime area’s largest microfinance co-op, was struggling to carry on its business as it dealt with power shortages.
Nearly 80% of Togo’s energy currently comes from biomass, the charcoal and wood burning that destroys forests, and 16% from petroleum products. Existing fuel shortages made Costanza realize that solar power was a competitive and environmentally-sound alternative to gasoline-powered generators.
But how to fund it?
“I worked at FECECAV, and I witnessed first-hand the problem of not having electricity,” Costanza says. “So I decided to start there. I hope it’s something that becomes important to the community.” The problem was finding the financial source needed to begin widespread installation.
Inspiration struck when Costanza began linking schools and homes needing power with the small microfinance institutions, including FECECAV, which dotted the area. The unique alliance—a first for the underdeveloped region—provided both business for the lenders and energy for their clients.
The loans are necessary in a city like Kpalime. The bill for three of SunPower’s rooftop projects in the city totaled $25,000 for panels that could power smaller items like laptop computers and light bulbs.
“For a house, it can hit $10,000, including import and export fees,” she says. “That’s out of reach for most people.”
The test project at FECECAV’s headquarters cost $50,000, with importing, exporting and logistics taking the lion’s share of the cost. (It took nearly a month, and $2,000, to get a recent batch of panels from the US through the Togolese port.)
Costanza and her team are trying to minimize costs so that hospitals, schools, community centers and individual homes will have an easier time taking out loans.
The SunPower team is also working on building solar power systems in a box, which come complete with panels that will be easy to install—and have a cheaper initial cost than the current larger installations.
Besides micro loans, another necessity in Kpalime’s solar evolution has been education.
“In one village, there was no power. We set it up so they could run two laptops and three bulbs at a given time. Then someone wanted to plug in a fridge, which would have fried the system. They don’t understand.”
On the roof in Wome, Koffi Dzodsi, a local resident who serves as the project’s chief technician, worked alongside Dave Staller, an engineer visiting from the US. Together they worked to drill a foundation for panels that were delayed, tied up at the port.
“People here knew about it, but before this they didn’t have financial access to it,” Dzodsi said of the solar technology. “Projects have been going here since 1992 but now there’s a boom because there’s [less] problems with money. There’s a lot of interest.”
SunPower and its success in Kpalime is at the forefront of a solar movement that is quickly growing across Togo and the rest of West Africa.
In 2010, James Gbeho, president of the region’s ECOWAS Commission, said the demand for power across Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Ghana and their neighbors would reach 22,000 megawatts per year in 2020, up from just 6,500 in 2003.
As demand for power grows, governments are struggling to implement renewable energy sources while often working without advanced technology and trying to skirt red tape, namely high importing fees and delays for arriving solar panels. Even when energy is available, it can be too expensive for residents of a city like Kpalime to afford.
Businesses like Costanza’s, which have partnered with local microfinance chapters, have the greatest chance of reaching citizens on the ground level. And the ripple effects of her alternative energy micro-projects are spreading to the highest offices in West Africa. In November, Bukun-Olu Onemola, the Nigerian deputy United Nations envoy, said that nuclear-powered electricity would be a key focus for the country’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, and his “transformation agenda”.
An hour’s Vespa ride from the Kpalime offices of FECECAV, tucked at the base of forested mountains, sits an innocuous village—small and pretty and lacking electricity, like many others in the area.
But look closer; off its dirt roads, a revolution is underway. A hospital, a wealthier two-story home—both have sets of solar panels tucked away, small reminders of the march of Togo’s sun power.

Tag: Togo

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Footballer-Turned-Entrepreneur From Togo On Making It Work In Africa’s Smaller Economies

Sustainable Farming In Togo: World Bank’s Financial Injection And OCP Collaboration

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