Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have pledged to devote up to US$5 billion, or CFAF 3,274 billion, to the African private sector.
The announcement was made during the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), which was held on 27 and 28 August 2022 in Tunis, the Tunisian capital.
It is provided in the framework of financial cooperation.
”The aid extends over the period 2023-2025.
The financing consists of US$ 4 billion under the existing window and up to US$ 1 billion under a new special window to be established by Japan, said an ADB note.
Under the special window, Japan will provide financing to countries that make progress in debt transparency, debt sustainability and other reforms, thereby steadily and significantly improving their debt situation.
To ensure food security on the continent, Japan and the AfDB will support agriculture and nutrition, priority areas of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance Initiative for Africa (EPSA 5) which will cover four priority areas: electricity, connectivity, health, agriculture and nutrition to address Africa’s key challenges.
At the EPSA 5 launch ceremony, Masato Kanda, Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, pledged his country’s support to African states while respecting their own initiatives.
Akihiko Tanaka, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said that “in the face of the grave situation caused by multiple crises, building resilience and promoting human security are strategic elements of Japan’s support to Africa.
“EPSA is a key part of our partnership with the African Development Bank to address the social and economic challenges facing the continent. JICA is committed to working with EPSA to create a bright and prosperous future,” he added.
AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, explained that “EPSA 5 is the kind of cooperation that Africa and the world need. The growing impacts of climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine mean that we need to do even more than we have done before, to mobilize the private sector and create job opportunities in Africa.
This “new initiative” targets millions of Africans, he said. For this financial cooperation, Japan and the AfDB will join forces to support countries facing huge challenges, including food security, climate change, health and debt.
Japan announced the launch of EPSA at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005. Since TICAD 6 in 2016, Tokyo has been updating the EPSA at TICAD.
Currently, Japan is providing support through EPSA4 (USD 3.5 billion from 2020 to 2022), which was launched at TICAD7 in 2019.
AP/te/lb/as/APA