At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), held in Yokohama in 2013, then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced the “African Business Education Initiative for Youth” (hereafter referred to as the “ABE Initiative”). This is a strategic five-year plan providing 1,000 youths in Africa with opportunities to study at Japanese universities as well as to do internships at Japanese enterprises. ABE Initiative builds on the concept that there is a need for human resource development in both private and public sectors of Africa through cultivating a strong human network between Japan and Africa.
At the TICAD 7 held in Yokohama in 2019, the initiative was renewed as “ABE initiative 3.0” which would provide opportunities for 3,000 youths in Africa to study and intern in Japan over the next 6 years. Since 2014, more than 1,400 participants from all the 54 countries have ever joined the program, and over 1,200 participants have completed. This has resulted in establishing a wide range of human resource network of ABE Initiative participants. Furthermore, many Japanese companies and ABE Initiative participants have collaborated in various ways to promote the development of private sectors in Africa.
Objectives:
- to support young generation willing to contribute to the development of industries in Africa.
- to foster persons that bridge between Africa and Japan through deep understanding of Japanese society and Japanese business culture
Eligibility Requirements:
Qualifications and Requirements Applicants must satisfy the following
requirements:
(1) Nationality – Citizens of one of the 54 African countries
(2) Age – Less than forty (40) years of age (as of April 1st, 2023)
(3) Educational background – Bachelor’s degree (equivalent to at least 16 years of academic background)
(4) Working experience /status Applicants for the category of “From the Private Sector” are required:
- to have working experiences,
- not to be employed by Japanese companies at the timing of joining the program (arriving in Japan).
Applicants for the category of “From Government” are required: - to have more than 6 months working experience at their current organizations and
- to obtain permission for application, and
- to secure reinstatement from their current organizations.
※Any employment before university completion is not considered as working history.
Only full-time working with acquisition of diploma, such as night school, is approved as working experience. - English language Proficiency – Adequate English skills both in written and oral communication to complete the
- Master’s Degree such as; TOEFL iBT :80 / CEFR :B2 (estimated score)
- *The required level of English for admission may differ according to university
Duration: September 2023 – August, 2026 (Maximum period)
- 6 months as a research student if applicable
- 1 or 2 years as a Master’s student
- Internship after graduation for the limited participants only (details are to be determined) [NOTES]
- Participants may not be able to arrive in Japan by September 2023, depending on the situation of the pandemic. In such case, the participants are requested to start the program through online basis from their respective countries or enrollment will be postponed until participants are allowed to come to Japan in case the university does not provide online lectures.
Internship at Japanese Private Companies
- All participants are expected to do internships at Japanese companies during their stay in Japan (ex. summer break, after graduation, etc.).
- Internship programs are carried out in English. In principle, any reward or compensation should NOT be paid to both the companies and the participants. Details of the internships will be fixed at the hosting
Recommended Qualifications
- Gender Equality and Women‘s Empowerment: Women are encouraged to apply for the program. JICA makes a commitment to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, providing equal opportunity for all applicants regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Documents
General Information
2. Application Form
- A-3. 2023 Application Form for ABE Initiative (includes Annex1&3) (Excel/316KB)
- A-5. Annex.2 Details of Current and Previous Work, Research Plan and Career Plan after Graduation (Word/22.0KB)
- C-4. Application Form_Cover (ABE, SDGs) (Japanese) (PDF/153KB)
- C-5. Example of Application Form (PDF/916KB)
3. University Information for Applicants
- B-1. 2023 University Information for ABE Initiative (Excel/142KB)
- B-3. Question form for University (Excel/11.7KB)
For inquires regarding the General Information, contact the below
JICE: africa@jice.org
All applications should be submitted by email to the following addresses: kouakouchantal.co@jica.go.jp / co_oso_rep@jica.go.jp
The subject of the email should be as follows : “[ABE Initiative FY2023] Submission of Application”
Deadline for submission of applications: 07 October 2022
Application Deadline: October 7, 2022
For More Information:
