The World Bank announced this week that it would release $70 million for Togo. Half of this funding is granted as a grant, the rest as a loan. The objective is to help the country execute its post-Covid 19 recovery plan because Togo is not immune to a deterioration of its economy due to the pandemic.

Togo's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to continue to grow this year but much less than expected. The World Bank anticipates growth of 1% in 2020 from 5.3% last year and is expected to continue to grow. This is at least the most optimistic reference scenario and takes into account a short-term health crisis. In its most pessimistic scenario, the Washington institution expects a contraction of 1.5% of GDP.

This is due to a decline in domestic demand and supply linked to health measures and travel restrictions. In addition, the decline in consumption among its trading partners will lead to a decline in exports and activity at the port of the capital Lomé, one of the country's growth engines.

Transport is also one of the sectors particularly affected along with manufacturing and agriculture. As a result, extreme poverty is expected to increase by 1%. In the pre-Covid forecasts, its rate was on the contrary expected to fall.

In the medium term, the World Bank remains rather positive. Togo should quickly return to its pre-crisis pace with growth at 4% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2022 in its reference scenario.