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Sustainable energy in Togo
About the country
Togo is one of the smallest countries in Africa. The 9th poorest on the continent, with nearly 8 million inhabitants, of whom more than 2 million in the capital Lomé, a city surrounded by slums in constant expansion. 49% of the population lives under the poverty line with an index of human development ranking it175th out of 189. Togo is also an undisguised dictatorship, exposed to the abuses of illegal armed militias, to the orders of a fraudulently elected president.
The coastline on the Gulf of Guinea is almost entirely urbanized, and subject to an inexorable erosion: more than 140 meters of land collapsed in the ocean over the last 10 years. A significant issue in the region, as 1/3 of West Africans live by the sea, a population increasing by 4% yearly. If traditional agriculture occupies 65% of the labor force, the countryside is emptying gradually and 40% of the population now lives in the cities, leaving behind adevastated land: 5,75% of the forest disappears every year, the highest rate in Africa.
Togo produces only 40% of its electricity requirements, depending on supplies from neighboring Ghana or Nigeria. As it recently withdrew from a major hydroelectric dam project in cooperation with Benin, providing energy in rural areas may never happen in a country buried in a $5bio sovereign debt, representing 90% of GDP
Main objectives
This projects differs significantly from our usual ventures as we will be supporting an NGO that will be morphing into a social enterprise following the end of the EU support in 3 years, an innovative approach to project sustainability. Its goal is to fight poverty in rural areas by facilitating access to sustainable energy. Therefore, it sources, markets and sells (i) solar lamps and kits and (ii) fuel efficient improved stoves and cookers, gradually in the entire country
Key principles
1
Building and extending an efficient supply chain from sourcing, down to the points of sale covering the target zones to offer to the population in rural areas an access to a cheaper and sustainable energy for lighting and cooking. By replacing inefficient traditional methods, this will have an environmental positive impact (firewood consumption or CO2 emissions) which is effective and measurable.
2
Reducing the level of women poverty with financing alternatives. Product acquisition is eased by credit solutions developed with a partner mictrofinance institution (MFI), also allowing the development of micro-enterprises. The MFI co-marketing agreement also foresees environmental awareness campaigns.
In cooperation with Entrepreneurs du Monde : https://www.entrepreneursdumonde.org/en/