Togo will benefit from technical assistance under the Policy Support Facility (PSF) of the OACPS for the establishment and operationalisation of a Research and Innovation Support Fund aimed at promoting the effectiveness of research and innovation in Togo and making it a driver of sustainable development.

Funding to research and innovation (R&I) is one of the major challenges faced by countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Togo. It is against this backdrop that Togo’s Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) has made the creation of a Research and Innovation Support Fund (FSRI, for its acronym in French) a priority. With this in mind, the MESR has requested the support of the Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) through its Policy Support Facility (PSF) for technical assistance in drawing up a guide for the creation and implementation of the FSRI.

The PSF service in Togo was officially launched on 19 September 2023, in the presence of more than 60 R&I actors, on the sidelines of Salon de la Valorisation de la Recherche et l’Innovation (SaVaRRi) in Lomé.

The ceremony was officiated on behalf of the Minister of Higher Education and Research by the Minister’s Director of Cabinet, Ms Ama Dzifa Gameti, in the presence of various partners, including Dr Ibrahim Norbert Richard, Assistant Secretary-General of the OACPS (by video message), Mrs Simona Mari, Senior Expert from the European Union Commission, Pr. Kouami Kokou, Director of Scientific and Technical Research at the MESR and focal point for the PSF in Togo, and Pr. Tona, Chairman of the PSF expert panel.

Prof. Tona, Chair of the PSF expert panel

The MESR, through its Director of Cabinet, expressed its commitment to do its utmost to bring to the attention of the highest authorities in the country the policy recommendation report that will result from this PSF service, so that our country can equip itself with the indispensable instrument that is the Research and Innovation Support Fund.

Ms Ama Dzifa Gameti, Cabinet Director, MESR

In his message, the Assistant Secretary General of the OACPS, Dr Norbert Richard, stressed that the creation of an FSRI is also consistent with the objectives of the country’s national development policy. It is in line with the objectives of the government’s Roadmap 2025, as well as international agendas, aimed at creating jobs by exploiting the country’s potential in the field of research and innovation.

The PSF service will be deployed over a period of 7 months by an international panel of experts who will work closely with the Togo national team, as well as with the PSF team of the OACPS R&I Programme.

For more information on this PSF service, please download :

The factsheet on the PSF service in Togo

Presentation of the members of the expert panel

Please also visit the page on our website dedicated to the PSF service in Togo