Interview with Myriam Dossou, Minister of grassroots development, youth and youth employment, whose mission is to promote access for grassroots populations to the common minimum living standards by 2032.
What projects and programs has the government deployed to benefit grassroots populations and young people?
Our missions are to support the efforts of different categories of the population to find answers to their specific needs in order to move towards achieving the minimum common subsistence level, to contribute to reducing disparities and imbalances between localities, to work to equip young people with adequate technical, professional and social skills to enable them to make the most of the structuring projects implemented within the framework of the PND and the government roadmap.
Specifically with regard to grassroots populations, since 2018 we have been implementing various projects and programs, primarily through the National Agency for Grassroots Development Support (ANADEB), including:
– Multifunctional platforms, true tools for the empowerment of rural women, which provide an energy solution to reduce the arduousness of work, and for agri-food processing in isolated areas.
– Basic socio-community infrastructures such as markets, health centers, drinking water boreholes, within the framework of the Community Infrastructure Micro-Project Support Program (PSMICO), have created the conditions for better children's education, promoted hygiene and health and income generation opportunities for the benefit of grassroots market populations.
– The implementation of the agreement signed in April 2017 between the Togolese government and the World Bank for $29 million to finance social safety net and basic services (FSB) projects for employment opportunities for vulnerable youth (EJV), has made it possible to intensify the cash transfer project for the benefit of the most vulnerable households and to extend the school feeding program in the poorest villages, as well as to promote the economic inclusion of thousands of rural youth.
Youth (representing 701% of the population) is a priority for the President of the Republic and the government. For the past ten years, the Ministry of Youth has been implementing targeted support mechanisms for young people, aiming to empower them and facilitate their integration into the country's economy.
These programs focus particularly on volunteering and entrepreneurship support, emphasizing raising awareness of entrepreneurial culture, structuring, and providing technical guidance to young people. Examples include the Youth Economic Initiatives Support Fund (FAIEJ), the Grassroots Development Support Program (PRADEB), the National Inclusive Finance Fund (FNFI), the National Agency for the Promotion and Financial Guarantee of SMEs (ANPGF), and the Project to Support Youth Employability and Integration in Promising Sectors (PAEIJ-SP). The deployment of digital innovation and creativity incubators is one of the projects aimed at boosting entrepreneurial culture among Togolese youth in all regions of the country.
Furthermore, the Togolese government, through the National Coalition for Youth Employment (CNEJ), signed a bilateral agreement with the United States Embassy for the establishment of a Resource Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Social and Solidarity Economy (CeRES), which supports Togo in its ambition to become the Hub of the social and solidarity economy and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in West Africa.
This center supports the establishment and improvement of the ecosystem for this aspect of entrepreneurship, which places people and their environment at the heart of its actions. To this end, an international conference on social enterprises and corporate social responsibility is organized annually in partnership with the Ecobank Group, ETI, and the Embassy of the United States of America. The outcomes of this conference have led to the implementation of a mentorship program for social entrepreneurs, support from the French Development Agency (AFD) for mapping stakeholders in the social and solidarity economy (SSE), and an operational action plan for promoting the SSE in Togo.
As part of its efforts to promote CSR, a CSR magazine called "MIABOH" has been launched. This biannual publication is dedicated to CSR. The goal of this initiative is to unite stakeholders around a shared culture: corporate social responsibility. In this spirit, the first edition of the CSR Awards will be held in 2022 to recognize companies for their best practices and initiatives in CSR in Togo. This initiative will also highlight companies that support the government in addressing social challenges.
Togo is accelerating its efforts to adopt a framework law on the social and solidarity economy and corporate social responsibility by 2022. The Ministry's mission also includes providing young people with the socio-educational, cultural, and sporting environment necessary for their development, civic education, and active participation in development. The program for the construction and rehabilitation of youth centers and houses, the "useful and civic-minded vacations" program, excellence internships, and civic and citizenship awareness programs are the main channels for fulfilling this mission.
How do you envision social and solidarity economy (SSE) models for the Africa of tomorrow?
The COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call for all paradigms in economics and management. Rigid and rigid management practices have been weakened, and many other myths have been shattered. This has led to a humbly acknowledging our limitations, but above all, to a renewed awareness of the central role of people, and that everything must now revolve around them. We remain convinced that no economic activity can thrive sustainably, regardless of the level of investment, technology, or productivity, if the majority of the population lacks the capacity to consume and participate in that economy. While this crisis has reduced countries' ambitions to focus on ensuring the basic needs of their populations and maintaining social stability, it has revealed the strong resilience of social enterprises and their contributions in terms of options and opportunities.
The social and solidarity economy, at the crossroads of the public and private sectors, and which carries out missions of general interest alongside the State, is expected to experience significant growth. It is imperative that African states partner with responsible businesses and a dynamic civil society to win the battle for inclusion.
What is the Togolese model aiming for?
Since 2008, Togo has resolutely embarked on a dynamic of consolidation and amplification of actions to become the Hub of the social and solidarity economy and corporate social responsibility in West Africa.
This commitment is clearly reflected in the government's 2020-2025 roadmap, both in terms of current circumstances and structurally, thanks to the innovative concept of grassroots development, the implementation of which is an expression of the effectiveness of social inclusion in Togo.
The social and solidarity economy (SSE) model in Togo is therefore intended to be one where people are at the heart of development, and it is grounded in the Head of State's vision of leaving no one behind. This inclusive model empowers communities to choose wealth-generating activities within their communities, and enables the most vulnerable to establish social safety nets through cash transfers.
The government has structured a series of coherent, high-impact, measurable programs to ensure that no one is left behind.
Whether they are cyclical or structural, these programs are designed to reduce poverty while supporting beneficiaries in their transformation and empowerment. They are based on a hands-on approach with a capacity-building component in management.
The government roadmap has fully integrated Togo's commitment to the "Pact for Impact," the main points of which are reflected in the reforms and projects. It includes a series of reforms concerning support for SMEs and micro-enterprises, the public administration with a new labor code, and more generally, creating the conditions for a business climate conducive to the development of the social and solidarity economy; establishing a legal framework for CSR development by companies; and strengthening CeRES/ESS, which provides administrative support for CSR/ESS in Togo.