Africa’s cross-border lottery unites five countries and crowns jackpot winner in TCE 2025 finale
West Africa’s cross-border lottery thrills audiences with life-changing prizes across five countries.
Togolese Republic.- Africa’s cross-border lottery crowned its 2025 winners, as the Council of the Entente Common Draw (TCE 2025) awarded life-changing prizes to winners from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and the Togolese Republic, which served as the host country.
The 2025 edition of the TCE, one of the most established and long-running cross-border lotteries in West Africa, kicked off earlier this year and culminated in a suspense-filled finale in the city of Lomé on November 29.
The gala, organised by the Togolese National Lottery (LONATO), was attended by Mawussé Afidenyigba, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Finance and Budget, Ali Idy, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Council of the Entente and the Directors General of the national lotteries from all five member countries, with observers from Senegal and Mali. The ceremony was broadcast live across the region.
Tension built throughout the 20-draw program, with the winners revealed during the final draw, creating a dramatic climax for the audience. The grand prize of CFA20m (€30,000) went to Koffi N’guessan from Côte d’Ivoire.
N’guessan said: “I want to say a big thank you to the Entente Council lotteries for this organisation. It is a great joy for me. I encourage bettors to try their luck. It’s the real deal!”
On the impact of the prize, Koffi N’guessan added: “I’m going to increase my efforts to earn even more, because CFA20m francs is a treasure. This amount relieves me of many burdens.”
Big wins and highlights
Samson Bambara from Burkina Faso won CFA10m (€15,000), marking the start of his betting journey. For the Togolese Republic. John Eninful won CFA5m (€7,500), Segla David took CFA4m (€6,000) and two others received CFA3m (€4,500) each. The total prize pool reached CFA80m (€120,000).
TCE 2025 also recognised entrepreneurship through the “Youth and Entrepreneurship” and “Women and Income-Generating Activities” competitions. Out of 350 applications, 30 projects were selected, ten by young entrepreneurs and twenty by women, who received CFA2m (€3,000) and CFA1m (€1,500) respectively to support their ventures.
With the 2025 draw officially closed, TCE has once again demonstrated its cross-border significance, uniting nations, rewarding players and promoting socio-economic development across West Africa.
