‘You may like oil and gas, that’s fine. But nobody drinks oil, and nobody smokes gas. But everybody eats food three times a day.’
‘…With the global food and agricultural market in Africa projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, the continent presents unprecedented opportunities for investment and innovation.’
Siaka Momoh
African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina painted a compelling picture of the potential of Africa’s agricultural and energy transition during a plenary session at the Africa Investment Forum 2024 Market Days, highlighting the deepening Japan-Africa partnership, emphasizing how Japanese technology and innovation could help unlock them.
According to AfDB’s report, Adesina spoke on 9 December as part of two panel discussions on Africa’s agriculture and energy transition, that brought together 100 Japanese investors, showcased how digital solutions, innovative technologies and business models are transforming Africa’s business landscape.
“Agriculture is the place to be,” declared Dr. Adesina, highlighting Africa’s possession of 65% of the world’s remaining arable land. “You may like oil and gas, that’s fine. But nobody drinks oil, and nobody smokes gas. But everybody eats food three times a day.” With the global food and agricultural market in Africa projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, the continent presents unprecedented opportunities for investment and innovation.
Digital Revolution in Agriculture
Space Shift Inc. demonstrated their groundbreaking use of satellite technology for crop monitoring in Nigeria. Chief Business Officer Tamao Tada presented how their AI-powered system combines optical and radar satellite data to provide continuous monitoring of crop growth, harvest timing predictions, and historical farming activity records – even through cloud cover. This technology is enhancing credit scoring for farmers and improving agricultural decision-making.
AAIC Partners Africa Limited, through Director Hiroki Ishida, shared their success story in Rwanda and Tanzania, where they’ve implemented smart agriculture projects covering 1,700 hectares. Their work demonstrates how Japanese technology can transform large-scale agricultural operations in Africa through IoT solutions and satellite technology optimization.
VunaPay’s COO, Koya Matsuno, addressed one of agriculture’s most pressing challenges through their digital platform that enables instant payments to farmers upon produce delivery. “Imagine working hard for a month and your boss tells you that you’re not going to get paid for another six months,” Matsuno illustrated, highlighting how their solution is transforming agricultural finance.
Green Carbon Inc.’s Manager, Ryo Harada, introduced innovative approaches to generating carbon credits in agriculture. Their projects, including biochar and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in rice fields, can reduce methane emissions by 30-50% while generating valuable carbon credits for farmers.
Strategic Partnership Framework
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), represented by Jin Wakabayashi, Deputy Director General for Private Sector Investment Finance, outlined their comprehensive support for agricultural development, emphasizing three key pillars for private finance window: Climate-resilient agriculture; Food security enhancement and financial inclusion facilitation.
The African Development Bank’s Director of Private Sector Operations, Richard Ofori-Mante, highlighted successful collaborations with Japanese institutions, including a $600 million of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA) facility with JICA and ongoing partnerships with major Japanese corporations like Mitsubishi.
“What I see here is what Executive Director Nomoto and I envisioned,” reflected Dr. Adesina, describing the creation of a comprehensive ecosystem supporting Japanese investment in African agriculture. This ecosystem spans agricultural technology and innovation; infrastructure development; financial services; private equity and venture capital and government support mechanisms.
The Bank’s collaboration with MasterCard on the Community Pass program, aiming to provide 100 million African farmers with digital access to financial services and agricultural information, exemplifies this ecosystem approach.
Green Transition and Digital Solutions
Uncovered Fund specializes in supporting start-ups in Africa, including climate technology company and electric vehicle (EV) battery service provider, through their funds to support net zero in the continent. “Not just financing, the Uncovered Fund also provides Japanese technology to the start-ups”, explained Mr. Takuma Terakubo, CEO & General Partner.
Hitachi Energy is also working towards clean energy transition and carbon neutral. Through its technologies and partnerships, Hitachi is implementing infrastructure projects which deliver reliable renewable energy to cities and rural areas, contributing to electrification of Africa. Mr. Bekim Tahiri, Executive & Global Sales Manager, emphasizes the importance of digitalization to make all the information visible to identify any issues to maintain their power supply and critically of investing into the Electrical Grid to successfully integrate clean energy whilst supporting access to power for the African continent…
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Catalyzing Action
Ken Shibusawa, Vice-chairperson of Africa Project Team, Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), brought urgency to the discussions. MC of the second session, he challenged his Japanese peers to move from interest to action, emphasizing that beyond the commonly discussed “cost of inaction” in sustainability, there was another critical cost: Japan’s missed opportunities in Africa. “In Japan, we have the technology, we have the people, we have the money, but what we lack is the Action,” Shibusawa noted, urging Japanese businesses to realize the cost they’re paying for future generations by not acting in Africa.
Japan’s Long-term Commitment to Africa
In closing remarks, Deputy Vice Minister of Finance of Japan, Daiho Fujii, underscored Japan’s long-standing commitment to African development, dating back to the country’s first participation in the African Development Fund in 1973. He highlighted Japan’s pioneering role in private sector mobilization, notably through the establishment of the EPSA at the Bank in 2006, which has provided around $9 billion to date.
