198 TILG Togo- ceo networks

Togo, a narrow strip of land on Africa's west coast, has for years been the target of criticism over its human rights record and political governance.

Granted independence from France in 1960, Togo has struggled to build a stable country and economy.

The country has gained notoriety as a transit point for ivory poached elsewhere in the region. Poaching has risen in recent years across the continent, where well-armed criminal gangs kill elephants for tusks and rhino for their horns, before shipping them to Asia for use in ornaments and supposed medicine.

Togo is one of the world's top five producers of phosphates, which are used in fertilisers, but remains poor and dependent on foreign aid.