Informal Institutions and Female Entrepreneurship in Togo: A Policy Analysis of Business Outcomes, 2005–2025

This policy analysis examines how informal institutions—specifically, kinship norms, rotating savings groups (tontines), and gendered social expectations—shape business outcomes for female entrepreneurs in Togo. It argues that prevailing policy frameworks, influenced by formalisation paradigms, inadequately address the complex dual role these institutions play as both enablers and constraints. Employing a rigorous qualitative methodology, the study analyses national policy documents and entrepreneurship strategies, triangulated with secondary case studies and regional reports on Togolese women’s enterprises. The findings reveal that while informal networks provide crucial access to seed capital and trust-based markets, they simultaneously impose significant social obligations and reinforce traditional gender roles. These factors limit business scalability and entry into formal sectors. The study concludes that a lack of policy synergy with these pervasive social structures has resulted in interventions with limited efficacy for sustainable enterprise growth. Its significance lies in advocating for a contextualised, African-centred policy approach. The paper recommends that Togolese policymakers move beyond encouraging formal registration to actively design hybrid models. Such models should leverage the strengths of informal institutions while systematically mitigating their gendered constraints, thereby fostering a more supportive ecosystem for women’s economic leadership.