• Togo’s industrial free zone has attracted $741 million in investment since 1994.
• The zone hosts 91 active companies and has created around 19,000 jobs.
• The government is merging investment promotion and free zone management into a single agency.

Investments in Togo’s industrial free zone have reached CFA425.7 billion (about $741.3 million) as of the end of 2024, equivalent to roughly 7% of the country’s GDP, according to data presented at the Cabinet meeting held in Lomé on March 11.

The scheme has also helped create around 19,000 direct jobs for nationals, the same sources said.

Since its creation in 1994, the Free Zone Administration Company (SAZOF) has gradually built an export-oriented industrial base. Of the 141 companies approved since the program began, 91 are currently operating, mainly in export-driven sectors.

While the scale remains modest compared with similar zones elsewhere in Africa, the government says it now plans to accelerate the initiative.

At the same Cabinet meeting, authorities announced the transformation of SAZOF into the Investment and Free Zone Promotion Agency (API-ZF). The new body will bring together the management of the investment code and the industrial free zone regime under a single institution.

API-ZF was initially created under Law No. 2019-005 of June 17, 2019, which introduced the country’s investment code, and further defined by Presidential Decree No. 2019-144/PR of October 31, 2019 outlining the agency’s mandate, organization, and operations. Its effective implementation was listed as Project P30 in the government’s 2020–2025 roadmap.

According to Togolese authorities, the reform aims to strengthen institutional coherence, simplify administrative procedures, and improve the effectiveness of public policies designed to attract investment.

The move comes as Lomé seeks to revive its industrial base through the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA). The project is developed under a public-private partnership with Arise IIP, with the state holding 35% of the capital and the private operator 65%.

Opened in 2021 about 15 kilometers from Lomé, the platform hosts more than 20 companies operating in sectors such as textiles, agribusiness, and pharmaceuticals.

Fiacre E. Kakpo