On March 23, 36 representatives of African students who came to Japan in FY2021 through the “ABE Initiative” program (“ABE Initiative Students”) had an exchange with Diet members of the Japan-African Union (AU) Parliamentarians for Friendship, Japanese business people, and JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (OV) who are working in Africa. The event was held at JICA Ichigaya, the venue of the conference. The JICA Ichigaya Building, the venue of the event, was filled with the energy of the students, who are bridges between Africa and Japan, and the enthusiasm of Japanese officials who encouraged them.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, “Pilotage” to Africa
Known as the “ABE Initiative,” the “Industrial Human Resource Development Initiative for Young Africans” (see note) is an international student program for Africa launched at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICADV) in 2013. JICA started accepting the first group of students in 2014, and has so far accepted about 85 university institutions and 400 companies and organizations that have accepted interns, JICA began accepting its first group of students in 2014, and has so far accepted more than 1,600 young Africans with the cooperation of about 85 university institutions and 400 companies and institutions that have accepted interns. This year, 2023, marks the 10th anniversary of the ABE Initiative’s founding in 2013.
(Note: The name “ABE Initiative” is an acronym for “African Business Education Initiative for Youth,” the official English-language name of the initiative.
The purpose of this exchange meeting was to share with ABE Initiative students who will be returning to their home countries in six months to a year the high expectations of Japanese officials for their post-return activities as a bridge between Japan and Africa, and to provide networking opportunities with Japanese business people who will be important partners in the post-return activities of the students, and with Japanese young people (JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers OV) who are working to solve social issues in Africa. The purpose of this event was to provide networking opportunities with Japanese business people who will be important partners in the activities of international students after their return to their home countries, and with Japanese youth (JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers OV) who are working to solve social issues in Africa.
At the beginning of the exchange meeting, Mr. Kazunori Tanaka, a member of the Diet, who has visited 21 African countries, said, “Africa, the birthplace of humanity, is a region that Japan must respect and cherish. It is Japan’s role to cooperate in every aspect of the program.” He also said to the ABE Initiative students who have established ties with Japan through the program, “It doesn’t have to be right away. I hope that you will think of Japan as your second home, and that you will cherish your ties with Japan over the long haul and play an active role on the world stage.
I want to gain experience in a Japanese company and become a trusted presence.”
Budar Merriam, who has had an interest in Japan since he was a child and began learning Japanese as a working adult, says, “I learned about the ABE Initiative program when a JICA volunteer Japanese language teacher working in Morocco told me about it. Mr. Merriam, who has also interned at a Japanese company in Morocco, gained experience at a Moroccan government agency as an industrial engineer and entered the Graduate School of Business Administration at Waseda University to study business in Japan to further boost Morocco’s industrial sector.
For his internship, he wanted to work for Mitsui & Co., which has many projects in Morocco. I knew that Mitsui & Co. was doing a lot of business in Morocco, but during my internship I was able to learn about markets in other regions besides Morocco, such as Mozambique and South Africa,” she said. Ms. Merriam says that the experience of perceiving Africa from the perspective of a Japanese company also gave her the opportunity to increase her interest in African and Japanese business more broadly.
In the future, I would like to contribute to the promotion of trade and investment between Japan and Morocco. To achieve this, I would like to gain more experience in Japanese companies after the program and become someone that Japanese companies can trust. I would also like to contribute to Morocco’s business expansion and investment in Morocco. I would also like to encourage Japanese companies to develop their business in Morocco, such as business expansion and investment,” he added.
Using Japanese Satellite Technology to Solve Social Issues in My Home Country
Kuzira Gibun, who works as an administrative officer in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in her home country of Zambia, decided to apply for the ABE Initiative after receiving information about it from a returning alumnus. She is studying Global Environmental Management at the Graduate School of Environmental Sciences, Hokkaido University, with the hope of deepening her knowledge of river and lake ecosystem monitoring techniques and applying it to the field in Zambia.
Interested in satellite-based monitoring technology, Mr. Whale participated in an internship program at the Japan Space Systems Development and Utilization Organization (JSDE). I was able to learn firsthand how satellite remote sensing technology is being used for environmental monitoring and assessment in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries,” he says. During his internship at JAXA, Mr. Whale had the opportunity to receive advice from various organizations and experts both inside and outside of JAXA on the research topics he had set for himself. I was given the opportunity to work on an issue in Zambia, where waterweeds have proliferated and covered the surface of rivers and lakes,” he said, “and to obtain data from the past 10 years by satellite and conduct a comparative study. I would like to utilize this technology in the fisheries sector in my country in the future,” he said, expressing his strong desire to put what he learned in Japan into practice in his home country.
The Organization for Space Systems Exploration and Application has accepted more than 80 international students since 2016. Kazuyo Hirose, General Manager of the Organization’s Space Utilization Expansion and Promotion Division, says, “The attraction of accepting so many foreign students is that they can establish connections with many African countries.” When we asked the ABE Initiative students we accepted in 2017 to help us investigate the possibility of satellite utilization in Senegal, they proposed excellent local potential user sites and arranged visits to six institutions,” says Kazuyo Hirose, General Manager of the Space Utilization Expansion and Promotion Division at the organization, who is highly impressed with the breadth of the local network and coordination capabilities of the ABE Initiative students. We asked for help from the ABE Initiative students we hosted in 2017, and they suggested excellent local potential users and arranged visits to six institutions.
We have offered internship programs for international students in a variety of fields, and we hope to provide internship and collaboration opportunities for motivated returnees in the future,” he said, expressing his positive attitude toward further connecting with ABE Initiative international students.
Challenging the African market through a business model that places foreign students at the core
Taiyo Yuhka Corporation, a Tokyo-based waste intermediate treatment company, is one of the companies accepting ABE Initiative students for internship. From microorganisms found in sludge treatment, the company has developed agricultural materials that improve soil and plant activity, and has received recognition as materials for sustainable organic agriculture. The company’s efforts have been recognized for contributing to sustainable development in developing countries, and in March this year, the company received the SDGs Promotion Deputy Director-General (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Award at the 6th Japan SDGs Awards.
This business model would not have been possible without JICA and the ABE Initiative students,” said Yohei Ishida, the company’s managing director, in his address as a representative of the company at the exchange event. The company began accepting ABE Initiative students for the first time in 2021 after a partner company proposed business development in Africa, and has accepted 15 international students so far. The company, which operates in Africa in the form of a franchise, is based on a local business model proposed by ABE Initiative students who are well informed in their home countries, and returning international students who are familiar with the product and its management almost always become franchise owners. Currently, business development is expanding in Mozambique, Liberia, Mauritania, Malawi, Tanzania, and Niger.
The good thing about our business is that the initial investment is small and it is easy to procure materials locally. It is a small profit, but by expanding sales channels at prices affordable to small farmers, the local owners themselves increase their profits,” says Ishida. “Even in Africa, business models differ from country to country. Rather than setting up a directly managed company, foreign students who are familiar with each country can become owners and conduct business in a way that suits the situation in that country, making it easier to expand and develop.
Encouraging diverse post-return activities of international students through collaboration with Japan
Some have returned to their home countries to contribute to the development of their home countries while supporting the expansion of Japanese companies into Africa, while others have started their own businesses in their home countries and are active as local partners of Japanese companies. Some are even starting their own businesses in their home countries and working as local partners for Japanese companies.
During the exchange meeting, JICA Executive Director Ando said, “Your stay in Japan is now only six months to a year, so the future is very important. I hope that you will continue to strengthen your relationships with Japanese companies and other ABE students after you return to your home countries and realize wonderful collaborations with them. JICA will spare no effort to support you during the remainder of your stay in Japan and after you return home. Let’s work hard together.
Mr. Ichiro Aizawa, the AU parliamentary group chairman, who attended the meeting, commented, “Today’s exchange meeting was very meaningful, and I felt that ABE students could contribute to the revitalization of regional areas in Japan. JICA will continue to promote “co-creation” between Japan and Africa.
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