Togo/ After Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, the Women and Finance program launches its 1st cohort in Togo

The Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) headquarters in the Togolese capital lent its setting on Friday May 23, 2025 to the launch of the Women And Finance (WAF) program in this 3rd West African country, after Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. With the first cohort of 25 women entrepreneurs out of a total of 125 in the pipeline.

Supported by the SEPHIS Foundation, and with the ambition of accelerating the financial inclusion and empowerment of women, the Women And Finance program is partnered by the Ecobank banking group, which acts as the financial arm of the initiative, and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF). This launch ceremony in Lomé marks Togo's effective entry into the program.

According to Kodjo Sephora, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the SEPHIS Foundation, this is " a great step forward".s in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, where, in just 3 years, " Women And Finance " has used up 1.3 billion FCFA in credit and obtained 100% repayment. On average, the loans range from 20 to 40 million FCFA, with a peak of 120 million FCFA .

Access to credit for these SMEs requires prior preparation, or even better, capacity-building for the women involved.paration of coherent dossiers and a calibration of financial needs with the realities of the entrepreneur," insists the PCA of the SEPHIS Foundation.

The program will therefore provide the 125 selected beneficiaries, including the ^1st cohort of 25, with free, high-quality training in management, finance and strategic leadership; and tailor-made technical assistance to structure their business. It will also provide a network of committed partner financial institutions, including Ecobank; and an active community of over 1800 African women entrepreneurs through the SEPHIS network.

Ecobank Togo's top manager, Estelle Fafa Akue Komlan, commented on the launch of the program: " We are committed to participating in the development of Togo's economy in an impactful way. To this end, we have decided to support a segment of society that contributes significantly to the country's development: women. Women make up 51% of the world's population; the same ratio applies to Togo", points out the CEO. What's more, here "women account for over 80% of economic activity in both the formal and informal sectors. So it's only natural that we should develop a strategy and a determination to make these women the partners of choice," stresses the N°1 of the Ecobank Group's Togolese subsidiary. Hence the launch of the Ellever program. She adds: " We have decided to work with the SEPHIS Foundation, which is aligned with the same principles as we are, as regards the empowerment and development of women entrepreneurs".

AGF, represented by Christelle Ayawabavi Atikpe, Senior Business Manager responsible for the Uemoa region, plays a key role in this partnership.It plays a key role in this three-way partnership for the benefit of women-led SMEs, by providing guarantees to Ecobank, which makes the loans available.

It should be noted that on the same trend of promoting women's financial empowerment, the Togolese capital will be hosting the International Women's Leadership Forum for the first time on October 20.

Source: www.togofirst.com/