The Togo Chamber of Commerce and Industry CCI Togo has announced plans to establish a dedicated startup investment fund in 2026 as part of a broader strategy aimed at promoting youth entrepreneurship and accelerating innovation across the country.
According to information published in the December 2025 edition of Entrepreneurs Mag, the chamber’s quarterly magazine, the initiative will place young innovators and emerging businesses at the center of Togo’s private sector transformation agenda.
The proposed investment fund is expected to target youth led startups operating in high potential sectors including digital technology agribusiness handicrafts and services. These sectors have been identified as key drivers of employment creation economic diversification and sustainable growth.
The chamber says the initiative responds to persistent financing challenges facing young entrepreneurs in Togo particularly during the early and growth stages of business development.
Many innovative startups struggle to access funding from traditional financial institutions due to limited collateral short operating histories and perceived investment risks. As a result promising business ideas often fail to scale or collapse entirely before reaching maturity.
CCI Togo believes the new fund will help close this financing gap while strengthening the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Although the exact size of the investment fund has not yet been disclosed the chamber confirmed that financial support will be accompanied by structured technical and strategic assistance.
This support will include business mentoring guidance on refining business models governance support market access facilitation and operational structuring.
According to the chamber such non financial support is just as important as capital injection since many Togolese startups face challenges in management organization branding and commercialization.
By combining funding with advisory services the initiative aims to professionalize project leaders improve business sustainability and significantly reduce startup failure rates.
CCI Togo President José Syménouh described the program as a long term investment in the country’s economic future.
“This fund will help build a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem based on innovation creativity and initiative,” he said.
He added that empowering young entrepreneurs is essential to strengthening national competitiveness and expanding private sector participation in development.
The initiative also reflects the chamber’s ambition to reposition itself beyond its traditional advocacy role and become a catalyst for enterprise growth talent incubation and industrial transformation.
In recent years CCI Togo has increasingly focused on entrepreneurship promotion capacity building and private sector modernization as part of Togo’s broader economic reform agenda.
The startup investment fund is expected to complement ongoing government programs designed to support small and medium sized enterprises including business formalization initiatives skills development projects and digital transformation strategies.
Experts believe the chamber’s involvement could significantly improve investor confidence in local startups by providing institutional backing credibility and professional oversight.
Startups supported by the fund are expected to benefit from stronger governance frameworks improved transparency and enhanced market readiness making them more attractive to future private investors and development partners.
The choice of priority sectors reflects Togo’s evolving economic landscape.
Digital technology has emerged as a fast growing sector driven by increased internet penetration mobile services and fintech innovation.
Agribusiness remains central to national development given its role in employment food security and export earnings.
Handicrafts and creative industries are increasingly recognized for their potential in cultural promotion tourism development and youth employment.
The services sector meanwhile continues to expand as urbanization and consumer demand grow.
By supporting startups within these areas the chamber aims to unlock value chains create decent jobs and stimulate inclusive economic growth.
Observers say the initiative could also encourage innovation outside the capital by supporting entrepreneurs in regional towns and rural communities where access to finance is even more limited.
Youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing socio economic challenges in Togo with thousands of young graduates entering the job market annually.
Entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as a viable solution yet lack of funding mentorship and structured support has hindered its full potential.
The chamber’s proposed fund therefore arrives at a critical moment.
By providing patient capital and long term guidance the program could help convert ideas into sustainable enterprises capable of contributing meaningfully to national development.
The announcement has been welcomed by members of the business community who view it as a positive step toward building a resilient private sector.
Several startup founders have expressed optimism that the fund will reduce dependence on foreign financing and enable local innovation to thrive.
While operational details are still being finalized CCI Togo says implementation planning will continue throughout 2026 with stakeholder consultations expected in the coming months.
The chamber is also exploring partnerships with development institutions financial organizations and private investors to strengthen the fund’s capacity and long term sustainability.
As Africa continues to witness a surge in youth driven innovation initiatives such as this are increasingly seen as essential to unlocking the continent’s demographic dividend.
For Togo the startup investment fund represents not only a financing mechanism but a strategic commitment to nurturing talent creativity and enterprise.
If successfully implemented the program could mark a turning point in the country’s entrepreneurship landscape positioning young innovators as central players in national economic transformation.
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