Africa Offers Attractive Investment Opportunities for Japanese Firms, Say African Development Bank Leaders

The forum was organised by the African Development Bank and Keizai Doyukai, the Japanese Association of Corporate Executives, with support from Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

Bank leaders underscored the institution's commitment to making investing in Africa more attractive. 

Kazuko Nagura from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced plans to hold the third Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum later this year. The event will offer Japanese companies an opportunity to travel to Africa to undertake business development and networking. Nagura also made reference to the ministry’s efforts to support Japanese business ventures in Africa such as the AfDX(link is external) program and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai(link is external) planned for next year.

During a panel discussion on investing in African startups, Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation Solomon Quaynor stressed the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to drive productivity improvements and deliver services to the base of the pyramid. "The idea is to use technology to increase profitability through efficiency, so you're delivering value for which all segments of society are actually paying," he explained.

Quaynor highlighted the Bank's initiatives to develop Africa's human capital and startup ecosystem, including partnerships with tech giants: "We have a program with Intel to train 9 million Africans in artificial intelligence and a coding for employment program to upskill up to 50 million youth."  He said the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks (YEIBs)  will further support tech-enabled companies and enhance the collaboration with &Capital, a new Africa-focused impact fund endorsed by Keizai Doyukai.

Misako Takahashi, Deputy Director-General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted TICAD as a platform for co-creating innovative solutions for growth and to discuss Japan and Africa’s shared future.

Yacine Fal, the Special Representative of the African Development Bank’s President to the Africa Investment Forum(link is external), showcased the platform’s role as a premier conduit for investment into Africa’s agriculture, energy, transport, healthcare and ICT sectors, among others. She noted the successful participation of Japanese investors and business leaders including those from Keizai Doyukai at the 2023 Market Days held last November in Marrakech.  

Earlier in the day, Keizai Doyukai, and the African Development Bank reaffirmed their commitment to work together to strengthen business ties between Japan and African countries. The two jointly organized the business forum to increase interest in African business and promote a better understanding of the Japanese private sector ahead of TICAD9.