From Deutsche Welle

“Here in my office I have a TV set, which I brought with me from Germany. And all my customers want to have this TV!” There is a mixture of amusement and amazement in Lambert Dameto Nayante’s voice. “The Togolese like German products more than anything else in the world,” he insists.

Lambert Dameto Nayante is the chairman of the Togolese Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the CCI Togo. The economist studied in Germany and now travels back and forth between the two countries to establish business contacts.
Nayante wishes he would encounter a similar enthusiasm for his country in Germany.

But German entrepreneurs are reserved. “As far as private investment by Europeans is concerned, Germany almost comes in last,” Nayante says.
‘Je ne comprend pas?!’

The German embassy is also trying to change that. It is even approaching specific companies, offering briefings and support. “Surprisingly, the main issue is the language barrier,” Volker Berresheim, the German ambassador in Lome, says.

“There are not that many medium-sized German companies which would feel at home in a French-speaking environment.” Because of its colonial history, Togo’s official language is French.

Read more at Deutsche Welle