The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged Japan’s businesses to assess potential investments in Africa based on facts and evidence, and not on outdated perceptions, encouraging the country’s private sector to invest more in the diverse opportunities offered by the continent.
In an interview with The Japan Times following the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) conference held in Tunisia from Aug. 26 to 28, Akinwumi Adesina identified two main areas where he hopes to see increased Japanese economic engagement with Africa: bilateral trade and investment.
Of the $1.5 trillion in global trade by Japan in 2021, bilateral trade with Africa amounted to only $23.5 billion, or just 1.5%.