Investing in Togo

Investment in Togo covers several forms of committing capital for income, growth, preservation of value or a planned transfer of wealth. The formal market includes government securities, listed shares, corporate bonds, collective investment funds and qualifying business projects. Other investments take place through private company participation, agriculture, property or other real assets. These private arrangements may be commercially useful but often lack standard pricing, continuous trading and a simple exit mechanism. A promised return is not a guarantee, and an investment described as local is not necessarily regulated or liquid. Togo raises public debt through UMOA-Titres, the regional government-securities market of the West African Monetary Union. BAT are short-term treasury bills with a maturity of less than two years and interest paid in advance. OAT are medium- or long-term government bonds with maturities of more than three years. OS are structured instruments whose risks and payment terms depend on the specific issue. The issue calendar and terms and conditions determine availability, price, maturity, payment dates, taxes and any minimum amount. A private or legal investor normally accesses these securities through a bank or an approved SGI. Direct primary-market access is limited to credit institutions, SGIs and other approved financial institutions with a BCEAO account. BCEAO is the central bank infrastructure supporting the monetary union and its financial-market arrangements. The BRVM is the regional stock exchange for eight UEMOA countries. It offers shares and bonds from issuers across the region, so it is not a Togo-only trading venue. Togo-linked listed examples include Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, commonly identified by the symbol ETI, and Oragroup SA, identified by ORGT. An investor generally opens a compte-titres, meaning a securities account, with an SGI or another authorised account holder. Listed sales and purchases normally pass through an approved SGI. DC/BR provides central registration and custody for listed securities. The intermediary should provide an avis d’opéré as evidence of an executed transaction. Market data, issuer reports and official exchange information are more reliable for valuation and verification than an unsolicited online offer. OPCVM are collective investment funds. They can provide diversification, but access is limited to funds and intermediaries approved by AMF-UMOA, the regional financial-markets authority formerly known as CREPMF. The prospectus and current approval status should be checked together with the fund’s assets, valuation method, redemption terms, management fees, custody arrangements and concentration. A fund marketed in Togo may hold regional or foreign assets, so its name alone does not establish its risk, currency exposure or tax treatment. Direct investment in a Togo-based company can qualify under the Code des investissements when the activity and project meet the applicable conditions. Potentially eligible areas include agriculture, industry, trade, crafts, services, holdings, a regional headquarters and an operating centre. The relevant framework excludes or treats separately activities such as prohibited operations, mining and oil, weapons, pure trading or négoce, and brokerage. API-ZF acts as the central contact point, or guichet unique, for qualifying investment projects. A project may require an agrément, which is an official approval, together with project documents, financial information and periodic reporting. The Zone Franche is particularly associated with labour-intensive activities, local raw materials, high technology, international subcontracting and export-oriented services. A 2026 reform expanded API-ZF responsibilities after the dissolution and transfer of SAZOF and introduced more digital and time-bound elements into approval review. The current procedure, responsible body and required documents should be checked at the time of application because the administrative framework is changing. The investment framework provides for equal treatment and protection against discrimination between qualifying investors, freedom to manage a business and protection of private property. Expropriation or nationalisation is subject to legal conditions. A foreign investor’s transfer of capital or profits remains subject to BCEAO foreign-exchange rules. Approval benefits are conditional rather than automatic. A company may need to maintain the approved activity, meet employment or sector commitments, use assets as authorised and submit periodic reports. Failure to meet those conditions can affect the continued availability of the relevant benefits. Private business, agricultural and property participation is often more fragmented and may be mainly informal. A contract should identify the parties, ownership, contributions, use of funds, governance, income distribution, duration, default rules and exit rights. Property investment requires verification of title and authority to sell or lease. Company investment requires checks of registration, ownership, accounts, liabilities, licences, contracts and actual control of the business. Informal participation without clear records can create disputes and make resale difficult. Formal approval by an authority does not replace commercial, legal or financial due diligence. Costs depend on the security, intermediary and service. BRVM charges are approximately 0.2% commission plus about 0.1% for DC/BR on each transaction side. The SGI’s own approved tariff applies separately. SGI TOGO’s homologated 2025 maximum tariff lists ordinary brokerage at 1% before tax, custody at 0.095% before tax per quarter, an annual account fee of FCFA 2,000 for an individual and FCFA 3,500 for a legal entity, and managed mandates at 0.2% before tax per quarter. It also lists FCFA 10,000 for account opening and FCFA 10,000 for a transfer or pledge registration. Online trading is listed as free in that tariff, but other charges, taxes and levies can still apply. The current tariff should be obtained from the intermediary before an order or account opening. Tax treatment depends on the instrument, source of income, investor residence and any applicable treaty. OTR administers Togo’s tax system, including the relevant income-tax and tax-procedure rules. Income from foreign securities is generally taxable for a person resident in Togo, but the rate depends on the type of income and the circumstances. Togo-source distributions paid to a non-resident can be subject to 13% withholding tax under Article 1173, subject to treaty provisions. Public-security terms may specify the payment and tax treatment for a particular issue. The investor should retain prospectuses, contracts, transaction confirmations, account statements and tax records and declare taxable income where required. The main risks include issuer or sovereign default, changes in market price and interest rates, limited liquidity, concentration in one country or sector, operational failure, custody problems and fraud. Private investments and real assets may not be saleable when cash is needed. Investors whose capital or income is not in FCFA can face currency and transfer risk. A diversified allocation can spread exposure across issuers, sectors, maturities and instruments. A maturity ladder can spread repayment dates for fixed-income holdings. Shorter BAT or suitable OAT may fit a capital-preservation or liquidity objective, while bonds and dividend-paying shares may support current income and equities or direct business investment may offer greater growth potential with greater risk. No investment choice removes the need to compare yield, fees, tax, liquidity, custody and concentration. There is no evidenced universal tax-advantaged retail investment account in Togo, no Togo-only stock market and no confirmed official Togo-specific channel for digital or alternative assets. These findings do not prove that every private or international offering is unavailable, but they require verification of the provider, authorisation, custody, legal ownership, withdrawal process and fraud controls. AMF-UMOA, BRVM, UMOA-Titres, BCEAO, API-ZF and OTR are the relevant official or regulated reference points for checking public securities, intermediaries, business approvals and tax treatment.