Polish state development bank to finance African cybersecurity and drone project
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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s state National Development Bank (BGK) has signed an agreement to provide 100 million zloty (€24 million) in financing for a cybersecurity and drone project in Togo involving Polish IT firm Asseco.
BGK says that the investment is “just the beginning” of its plans to “support Africa’s sustainable economic development by focusing on proven, secure and modern European technologies”, in particular those provided by Polish companies.
The agreement was signed in Togo’s capital Lomé this week in the presence of Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and digital affairs minister, and Cina Lawson, Togo’s minister of public service efficiency and digital transformation.
🤝 @BGK_pl podpisał umowę dotyczącą długoterminowego finansowania polskiej inwestycji technologicznej w Togo o wartości ponad 100 mln zł, zabezpieczonej https://t.co/OtjfC09YXs. unijną gwarancją EFSD+ w ramach Programu Transformacji Cyfrowej w Afryce Subsaharyjskiej. 🌍
🇵🇱 W… pic.twitter.com/Tyj7zxInjy
— Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji (@CYFRA_GOV_PL) May 18, 2026
BGK’s vice president, Marta Postuła, who was also at the ceremony, said the “strategic” project is a “win-win” for both sides, helping Polish firms expand in Africa while boosting Togo’s digital infrastructure.
In 2019, Asseco and Togo’s government established Cyber Defense Africa (CDA), a joint venture providing cybersecurity services to Togo and other African countries.
The new project being financed by BGK will see CDA create the African Drone Company, which will enable Togo to locally design, produce and operate drones for use in various industries and for export.
It will also establish a National Digital Security Academy that will train experts in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and drone operations, among other things.
“Poles are among the world’s leading specialists in cybersecurity,” said Gawkowski, and these skills “can serve as a hallmark of our export potential”. Lawson, meanwhile, said that Togo “takes pride in deepening our partnership with Poland”, which she called “a trusted ally”.
BGK’s financing is backed by the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), a European Union instrument that supports investment in partner countries in Sub-Suharan Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean
“The European Union is proud to support this Polish-Togolese partnership in cybersecurity,” said the EU’s ambassador to Togo, Gwilym Ceri Jones. “This is about protecting citizens, public institutions and businesses, while driving new opportunities for the national economy in a thriving sector.”
Europe is shifting from aid to investment 🌍
Today in @Euractiv, Prof. Marta Postuła, First Vice President of #BGK, explains the move toward win-win partnerships, the growing strategic role of Africa & Ukraine, and how national development banks such as #BGK are becoming key… pic.twitter.com/YPZVszLSuw
— Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego 🇵🇱 (@BGK_pl) May 19, 2026
Postuła noted that “the project in Togo is not a one-off initiative” and that BGK is “working on further similar transactions” to use EFSD+ to “strengthen the presence of European, including Polish, companies in African markets”.
It is also not BGK’s first project in Africa. Last year, a consortium of six banks, including BGK, granted a loan of $76.5 million to Tanzania for the construction of a railway artery.
Poland has in recent years stepped up efforts to promote trade and investment ties with Africa. In 2024, a delegation led by then-president Andrzej Duda visited Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. They discussed cooperation in areas including agriculture, IT, financial technology and defence.
Last year, Radosław Sikorski became Poland’s first-ever foreign minister to officially visit Zimbabwe, where he represented the EU in signing a €163.9 million investment initiative that aimed to support digitalisation, transportation, new technologies and the use of the region’s natural resources
Accusations that President Duda's recent state visit to East Africa was a “holiday” are unfair.
But it is true that Poland has lacked a coherent and consistent strategy on building ties with the continent.
Duda's trip was a chance to start changing that https://t.co/u1LiDKzw6m
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 8, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: CDA (press materials)
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