Togo Aims to Diversify its Financing of Cultural Activities

In 2013, the Togolese Minister of Culture created the Culture Support Fund to help finance artists in Togo. Over the last 3 years, 354 projects have been funded. The Minister is now looking for new sources to finance the project.

In 2016, the Ministry will distribute 300 million Francs CFA (around 450,000 euro) to assist the proliferation of artistic creation in Togo. The objective is to help the artists to achieve their projects and to become competitive on the national stage as well as in the international arena. This funding includes many different categories of art including cinema, painting, writing, music etc. Through this fund, Togo hopes to promote its national culture.

Since its creation, the Culture Support Fund has given 800 million Francs CFA (around 1.2 million euro) to Togolese artists. However, according to Guy Lorenzo, the Minister of Culture of Togo, this is not enough to answer the demands of all the artists who need support from the government.

“We plan to explore other sources of funding to strengthen the Culture Support Fund. And we must meet the growing demands of the world of culture”, says M. Lorenzo. 

These new sources of financing may come from the private sector; philanthropy and private partnership methods are being investigated as means of providing the fund with more financial resources. Finding alternative revenues for the fund will prove critical in financing the many Togolese artists that could benefit from it.