UNDPTogo Launch $476k Annual Fund for Startups in Togo

The Support Fund for Economic Initiatives for Young People (FAIEJ) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP-Togo) has launched the Togolese Facility for the Acceleration and ‘Innovation (FTAI) to provide $476k for young tech startups in the country.
The platform aims to fund ambitious startups with innovative ideas, intending to assist in the formation of new enterprises and jobs for young people.

Komi Aokou, head of the UNDP SDG Acceleration Lab Exploration Lab speaking on the development said that the fund will be a catalyst for innovative activities in the country.

“It is a fund that functions as a catalyst for firms, particularly SMEs, with a minimum of three years in operation. It also underlines the importance of innovation in driving corporate activity. The goal is to make it easier to fund risky innovation,” Komi said.

According to the UNDP, the program is the centerpiece of the “Support project for the promotion of entrepreneurship and the private sector for the creation of sustainable jobs,” as well as the attainment of the 2nd and 3rd Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The fund’s administrators- Orange has emphasized that the startups that will be backed will also benefit from the group’s resources and skills, as well as an international network, to help them expand faster.