The Head of the Government, Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, formerly chaired the opening ceremony of the regional civil society forum in Lomé on Tuesday 25 February 2025. The forum, which was placed under the theme, “harnessing girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment to achieve development in West and Central Africa,” seeks to highlight the crucial role played by civil society organisations in promoting girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment.

The two-day event in Lomé brings together civil society organisation actors from 22 West and Central African countries. It was co-organised by the World Bank Group and the Brazzaville Foundation.

The World Bank Vice President for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana, praised Togo’s efforts in ensuring quality education for girls throughout the country. He further congratulated the country for introducing reforms, which led to the formulation of its programmes. Speaking on the occasion, the World Bank Vice President underlined: “we have reached a turning point of collaboration with civil society organisations and the forum makes it possible for us to change society by investing in girls’ education.”

Addressing the forum, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the World Bank Group and the Brazzaville Foundation for having selected Togo to host such a major Regional Forum for Civil Society Organisations in West and Central Africa.

“A literate girl becomes a source of transformation for herself, her family and the community. Education enables many young girls to fulfil their dreams and effectively contribute to the development of her country. Better still, empowering women is key to building fairer, more resilient and prosperous societies. The “Nanas Benz” are a shining example of this contribution. They were courageous women entrepreneurs, who, not only supported their families, but they were also instrumental in achieving socio-economic development in Togo. They became a source of inspiration and served as role models for future generations to look up to. Indeed, they show and tell the story of powerful and empowered women, explained the Head of the Government.

Togo, under the leadership of the Head of State, H.E.M. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, commits to investing in human capital, in particular in the youth and women, as drivers of economic and social development.

The government’s roadmap seeks to promote genre and social equity and when it comes to achieving progress, Togo stands out as one of the prominent countries.

Regarding access to education, the net enrolment rate for girls in primary education rose from 93.4% in 2015 to 98.5% in 2024, with 1.01 girl/boy ratio, showing the same proportion of enrolment for girls and boys.

As for secondary education, net enrolment rate rose from 40.08% in 2015 to 57.48% in 2024. Primary school completion rate for girls rose from 83.3% in 2015 to 95.7 in 2024, whilst secondary school completion rate picked up from 33.7% in 2015 to 59.3 in 2024.

The National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI) was launched in 2014. Ever since, loans amounting to over CFAF 109 billion were granted, with women accounting for 65% of the beneficiaries. As part of rural women empowerment projects, 25% public procurement contracts were awarded to women entrepreneurs, to name a few.

In addition, the country seeks to promote youth excellence through the Presidential Programme of Excellence (PPE) and the Programme of Excellence for Women in Africa (PEFA), which focus specifically on young women.