The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, has announced an operational set of standards and guidelines to be followed under the recently signed Entrepreneurship Support Agreement with the Togolese Republic, Togo.

The strategic agreement, which was signed last March, will provide funding assistance of over US$15 million (AED55 million) to local small and medium enterprises, SMEs, in Togo, eventually resulting in the financing of over 3,700 projects and the opening of around 13,000 job opportunities.

The agreement signed by Hussain Jassim Al Nowais, Chairman of KFED, and Noel Bataka, Togo Minister of Agriculture in Lome, last March. Under the terms of the agreement, funds appropriated for the projects will be disbursed equally over the next five years.

The $15 million fund is expected to help support micro and SME projects, especially across priority segments like the agricultural and technology sectors of the country. The agreement was signed under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Faure Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic.

Al Nowais said that the agreement will provide funding for 3,700 projects, all of which are within the agricultural sector. The projects are expected to provide more than 13,000 jobs for young Togolese in the near future. He explained that 40 percent of the targeted projects will be for women, while the remaining projects will be available to all categories of citizens. He also revealed that 65 percent of the funding will be allocated to new projects.

"We seek to empower women and strengthen their role in Togo’s efforts to achieve sustainable development. The funding will provide a viable financial support in line with Togo Government’s endeavors to build a culture of entrepreneurship in the country by empowering the local micro businesses and SMEs, especially those involved in the agricultural sector," Al Nowais said.

For his part, Bataka commended on the recent agreement between Togo and the UAE, saying that his country is looking forward to further strengthen their cooperation.

He also stressed that it is a major step towards creating more robust ties with the UAE through the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, which is one of the leading institutions tasked to promote entrepreneurship and create a stimulating environment for the SME sector.

To date, KFED has funded more than 1,600 local projects and collaborated and shared its experience with 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe through its funding and technical support programmes.

Source: WAM