Representatives from the Japanese business association Keizai Doyukai and the African Development Bank Group met in Tokyo on Tuesday to explore deepening private sector cooperation and investment in Africa. The meeting, held at Keizai Doyukai's offices ahead of the Japan-Africa Business Forum, stressed youth engagement as a key priority, reflecting discussions from the recent G7 Summit and the upcoming TICAD9 conference.
"Preparing for TICAD9, our focus area is: How to engage the youth," stated Ken Shibusawa, CEO of Shibusawa and Co. and Chairperson of Keizai Doyukai's Japan-Middle East/Africa Relations Committee. The ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, scheduled for Tokyo in 2025, aims to strengthen ties between Japan and Africa. Established in 2009, Keizai Doyukai's Africa committee seeks to grow alongside Africa through expanded trade and investment.
"The spirit of Keizai Doyukai is to grow together with Africa, which means that Africa has to grow first," added Shibusawa.
The meeting also discussed mobilizing climate finance, critical minerals, the green mineral value chain, and climate change adaptation. Bank Group Vice President Kevin Kariuki highlighted the $10 million recently approved by the Japanese government for project preparation under the Bank-supported Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) to enhance the bankability of projects and attract more private investment.
"Africa has huge private sector opportunities. There is no alternative to the private sector in terms of driving growth on the continent and harnessing the demographic dividend," said Kevin Urama, the Bank Group's Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance & Knowledge Management.
Shibusawa acknowledged the country risk for Japanese firms investing in Africa. However, Kariuki pointed to the recent closure of the Menengai geothermal project in Kenya, which involves Toyota Tsusho as a demonstration of Japan's competitive edge in the sector. The Bank Group served as the lead arranger on this important project.
African Development Bank Vice President Solomon Quaynor emphasized the strong, trusted relationship between African countries and the Bank, which can act as an advisor to Japanese investors. "The Bank has risk mitigation instruments... we value Japan a lot, particularly the quality of infrastructure," he said.
With over 600 million Africans still lacking access to electricity, the dialogue explored innovative uses of Japanese official development assistance, such as providing first-loss capital, to catalyze more private infrastructure investment. &Capital, established based on a policy proposal of the Keizai Doyukai, also plans to begin its operation this year to support early-middle-stage companies and partner with venture capital firms in Africa.
On the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022 in Abidjan, Keizai Doyukai signed a statement of intent with the African Development Bank to foster closer collaboration and strengthen business ties between Japan and Africa, further underscoring the commitment to growing private sector engagement on the continent.
