Togo registered 14,202 newly created companies in 2025, a 4.8 percent decline from the previous year, marking the second consecutive annual contraction in business creation, according to official data.
Figures compiled by Togo First from the Business Creation Formalities Center (CFE) showed that the number of new firms fell from 14,919 in 2024 to 14,202 in 2025. The latest drop followed a steeper 13 percent decline recorded in 2024, underscoring a sustained slowdown in entrepreneurial activity.
Company registrations weakened progressively over the course of the year. In the first quarter of 2025, authorities recorded 4,262 new firms, before registrations slipped to 3,485 in the second quarter. The downward trend continued in the third quarter, with 3,352 companies created, and intensified in the final quarter, when only 3,103 new businesses were registered between October and December.
The slowdown came despite government efforts to improve the business environment. In recent years, authorities have introduced measures aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship, including reducing the time and cost required to register a business, digitising company formalisation procedures and rolling out reforms designed to make the private sector more competitive.
While officials have not issued an explanation for the decline, analysts point to several structural factors weighing on new business creation. Access to financing remains a major constraint, with banks and other financial institutions often favouring established firms, which are viewed as less risky, over startups and newly created enterprises.
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Market saturation in key segments of the economy may also be playing a role. Sectors such as trade, catering and transport, which traditionally account for a large share of new business registrations, have seen intense competition in recent years, limiting opportunities for new entrants.
The latest figures suggest that improving the regulatory environment alone may not be sufficient to revive entrepreneurial momentum, with broader challenges such as financing conditions and sectoral diversification likely to shape business creation trends in the coming years.
