• Togo adopts new strategy to mobilize diaspora investment, skills

• Plan targets entrepreneurship, agriculture, and private sector development

• National registry launched to map diaspora profiles and resources

Togo has confirmed its commitment to better organize the economic contribution of its diaspora. Authorities approved a new national strategy for mobilizing and engaging the Togolese diaspora last week in Lomé, thirteen years after adopting the first version.

The document is designed to transform a fragmented pool of potential into a more structured driver of development. It was drafted with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the SDE4R project, "Streamlining Diaspora Engagement to Catalyze Private Investment and Entrepreneurship for Enhanced Resilience."

It aims to stimulate private investment, entrepreneurship and economic resilience through diaspora resources.

Channeling savings, skills and networks

The government intends to better channel financial flows, expertise and networks from Togolese living abroad toward national priorities. Targeted sectors include entrepreneurship, innovation, agriculture and the financing of productive projects.

"The goal is to plan and structure the actions of both the government and the diaspora in the country’s development," said Edem Komi Amoudokpo, director of Togolese abroad.

In addition, a national diaspora registry has been launched. The tool will be used to identify the profiles, skills and investment capacities of nationals living abroad.

According to official estimates, nearly one million Togolese were living abroad at the end of 2022. Other sources put that figure at up to 1.5 million people. This population is a key source of remittances, real estate investment, trade and business creation.

Togo is drawing on experiences from Morocco, Senegal and Mali, countries that have developed dedicated diaspora engagement mechanisms.

R.E.D