Highlighting JAPAN

Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7)

TICAD7 will be held in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, from August 28 to 30, under the theme “Advancing Africa’s Development through People, Technology and Innovation.”

The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) is a summit-level international conference on Africa’s development initiated by Japan in 1993. TICAD is co-organized by Japan, the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC) and discusses a range of issues affecting Africa with the participation of leaders of African countries and representatives from international organizations, development partner countries, private companies and civil society organizations. Starting with TICAD I in 1993 until TICAD V in 2013, the conference was held every five years in Japan. From TICAD VI in 2016 onwards, the conference is to be held every three years, hosted alternately in Africa and Japan.

TICAD VI, held in Kenya, was the first TICAD in Africa, and attracted more than 11,000 participants. At this conference, promotion of structural economic transformation through economic diversification and industrialization, resilient health systems for quality of life and social stability for shared prosperity were discussed as priority themes. On this occasion, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that for a period of three years from 2016 to 2018, Japan would invest approximately 30 billion US dollars for the future of Africa under public-private partnership, including human resources development for 10 million people.

The African Business Education Initiative for Youth (the ABE Initiative) is the core of Japan’s support for human resources development. The ABE Initiative is a program for developing African industrial human resources and those who can support Japanese companies’ businesses related to Africa. This program invites young individuals such as government officials and businesspeople from Africa to Japan and provides opportunities to receive a master’s degree education, principally in English at a Japanese university, and to intern at Japanese companies. Roughly 1,400 program participants from about fifty countries have come to Japan since the program began in 2014.

TICAD7

TICAD7 will be held in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, co-organized by Japan, the United Nations, the World Bank, UNDP and AUC from August 28 to 30. At this conference, participants will discuss a range of subjects, focusing on economic transformation and improvements in business environment and institutions through private sector development and innovation, the promotion of resilient and sustainable society for human security, and peace and stability.

During TICAD7, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will hold the Japan Africa Business Forum & Expo. The Business Forum portion of the program will include speeches by political and business leaders from both Japan and Africa, and sessions on the development of business through collaboration with African startups and companies from various countries. At the Business Expo, the Japan Fair will be held to introduce Japanese companies’ products, technologies and services to top officials and business leaders from Africa while the Africa Lounge will feature exhibitions by African countries and provide opportunities for Japanese businesspeople to interact with visitors.

Aside from these events, JETRO, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNDP will cosponsor the Africa Japan Startup Pitch where twenty African companies and about ten Japanese companies that provide innovative solutions to Africa’s social issues will pitch their ideas. At the venue, networking space for participants will also be set up.



On October 6, 2018, the singer MISIA was appointed as TICAD 7 Honorary Ambassador at the TICAD Ministerial Meeting reception in Tokyo. In addition to her work as a musician, MISIA has visited a number of African countries and has been making contributions in Africa for more than ten years such as by supporting children’s education, distributing mosquito nets and raising awareness on water issues. In her speech at the reception, MISIA said:

“There is an African proverb, ‘Mountains don’t meet, people do.’ I think the message is: that we meet and keep on building relations. Life is going on and on. I trust that our meeting through TICAD will lead us to a better future!”



Japan Africa Business Forum & Expo

An event introducing African countries’ investment environments, and also the products, technologies and services of more than 150 Japanese companies.
Organizer: JETRO
Date: August 28–30, 2019
Venue: PACIFICO Yokohama Exhibition Hall D

Africa Japan Startup Pitch

A stage to pitch ideas for startups business to solve African social issues through technologies and innovation.
Organizer: JETRO, JICA, UNDP
Date: August 30, 2019
Venue: PACIFICO Yokohama Exhibition Hall B