In the first half of 2020, outstanding loans in microfinance institutions (Decentralized Financial Systems or DFS) in Togo rose by 5.3% annually, according to the latest situation report in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), issued by the Central Bank (Bceao).

This increase, slightly higher than the average of 5.1% for waeMU (compared to June 2019), places Togo 4th engine of growth in the sub-region, behind Côte d'Ivoire (+12.1%), Mali (+9.5%), and Benin (+6.2%). On the other hand, Togo is ahead of Senegal (+2.3%), Guinea-Bissau (+1.7%), Burkina Faso (+1.5%), and Niger, whose loans contracted by 27.5%.

In total, the outstanding loans of the Union's SFDs amounted to CFAF 1,505 billion in the first half of last year, of which almost half (48.4%) consists of short-term loans, in this period already marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As for deposits, the amount collected amounted to 1586.5 billion CFA francs against 1441.5 billion CFA francs a year earlier. That's an annual increase of 10.1%.

Togo posted an increase of 11% at this level, behind Burkina Faso (+15.4%), Mali (+17.1%), and its neighbour Benin (+17.2%), while being ahead of Côte d'Ivoire (+10%), Senegal (+2.6%), as well as Guinea-Bissau and Niger, whose deposits fell by 5.3% and 0.8% respectively.