AfDB President in Japan, repeats call for investment in Africa via agriculture

Akinwumi Adesina met with senior government officials, business leaders and the African diplomatic community on a short visit to the Japanese capital from 5-6 September 2018.

On an official visit to Japan, the President of the African Development Bank repeated his call for investment in agriculture and development initiatives to ensure Africa’s economic growth.

Akinwumi Adesina met with senior government officials, business leaders and the African diplomatic community on a short visit to the Japanese capital from 5-6 September 2018.

 “There has to be industrialization in order to get the population out of the poverty,” the Bank President said, as he elaborated on the concept of Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs),  in which infrastructure like roads, rails, energy, ICT and transport, are built alongside agricultural development, with accompanying fiscal incentives and policies to create added value for producers.

“Zones of economic misery will turn into zones of prosperity,” Adesina said, indicating his keenness to collaborate with Japan in the agriculture sector.

Speaking with key Japanese partners of the Bank, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Taro Aso and Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Masatsugu Asakawa, President Adesina outlined the Desert to Power Programme as an important initiative to enhance the population’s access to electricity in the Sahara Desert.

At a meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, President Shinichi Kitaoka and Adesina found areas for further collaboration as they discussed the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which will be held in Yokohama next year.

In further meetings, Adesina actively engaged Japanese stakeholders as he promoted Africa as a thriving investment destination. In a meeting with Deputy Governor, Nobumitsu Hayashi, of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Adesina repeatedly emphasized the importance of the private sector and a business-driven approach. He encouraged Japanese companies to invest in Africa and discussed the increasing strengthening of partnerships with the Japanese private sector.

Adesina also urged Japanese stakeholders to participate in the Bank’s upcoming Africa Investment Forum, planned from 7-9 November 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Africa Investment Forum will bring together project sponsors, borrowers, lenders, and investors, to accelerate Africa’s investment opportunities. The three-day event will unite global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other financial sector investors. The Forum will also bring together a network of financial institutions with instruments to de-risk selected investment opportunities.