Before sending money to a company or supplier in Togo, verify three things separately: the existence of the entity, the identity of the person acting for it, and the consistency of the transaction. A company can be genuinely registered while the invoice, contact or payment instructions you received are false.
Start with the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises
Togo’s Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) operates as a one-stop centre for business creation, modification and dissolution formalities. The CFE also states that the unified business-creation card includes the RCCM registration number, tax identification number and CNSS number.
Useful references: Togo Centre de Formalités des Entreprises and CFE Togo — missions and responsibilities.
These facts establish a baseline. They do not guarantee solvency, competence or successful performance of a contract.
1. Compare the business identifiers
Ask for the exact registered name and the relevant registration references for the transaction. Compare them with the documents, invoices, quotations and contact information being used. Material differences should be explained before payment is authorized.
A useful verification does not stop at seeing “an RCCM number.” The number, entity name and supporting details should relate to the company you believe you are dealing with.
2. Use legal announcements as a cross-check
The CFE website serves as a publication channel for business legal announcements. Depending on the available notice, those publications can include details such as the entity name, registered office, business purpose, management and RCCM number.
Review the CFE publications here: CFE Togo — legal announcements. A relevant notice will not answer every due-diligence question, but when one exists it can provide another independent source for comparing the facts you received.
3. Confirm the authority of the person requesting payment
The fact that a company exists does not prove that your contact is authorized to bind it. Verify the person’s name, role, email address and telephone number and, for a significant transaction, their authority to act for the entity.
If you receive a sudden change of bank details or a new beneficiary, confirm that change through a channel different from the one that sent the new instructions.
4. Verify physical presence and activity when the risk warrants it
An independent visit can document an address, signage, office, warehouse, worksite, visible inventory or observable activity. That visibility is particularly useful when a contract depends on equipment, premises or work that is supposed to exist physically in Togo.
The report should stay factual: what was observed, what could not be confirmed, which documents were shown, and which questions remain open. A visual observation should not be turned into a legal, financial or technical conclusion.
5. Verify each payment element
- Does the beneficiary name match the business, or is there a documented explanation?
- Does the invoice use the correct entity name and consistent contact details?
- Does the billed product, service or milestone match the agreement?
- Have the amount, currency or terms changed?
- Is urgency being used to prevent your normal checks?
6. Do not confuse registration with approval
Registration answers one question: is the entity registered according to the information available? Your commercial decision asks others: is the offer real, is the representative authorized, does the operating capacity exist, and is the transaction acceptable to you?
For investments, tax matters, complex contracts or regulatory conclusions, use the appropriate qualified professionals in addition to factual verification.
Where BOWestAfrica fits
BOWestAfrica Business Verification can combine agreed factual checks with independent on-the-ground visibility when that is part of the scope. We report findings and limitations; we do not guarantee business performance or the success of a transaction.
Explore support currently available in Togo or review BOWestAfrica’s West Africa Coverage.
General information: this guide is not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Applicable requirements should be confirmed with the appropriate authorities and qualified professionals.
