The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation recently published a list of 18 projects between EU and Japanese companies taking place in Africa.
Through these case studies, the EU-Japan Centre aims at encouraging EU and Japanese companies to consider collaboration in Africa, and with African partners, where many business opportunities remain untapped.
These projects show that EU and Japanese companies can complement each other in these markets. For example, EU companies are often well-established and well-connected in the region. They can be the entry door to a local tender or local partners for Japanese companies.
On the other hand, while Japanese trading houses (sogo shosha) are present in the continent and can be good partners for large-scale projects, smaller Japanese companies with innovative and affordable technologies can also be highly relevant partners in Africa.
In addition, some projects in Africa are financed by Japanese ODA loans, which open many opportunities for Japanese companies and their foreign business partners. At the same time, many European banks finance projects in Africa which can help EU and Japanese companies combine their financing in the region.
Whether it is the knowledge of the local language, standards and culture or more technical aspects such as project management, engineering capacity or financing, EU and Japanese companies can leverage their own strength for successful joint projects with local partners.
The EU-Japan Centre compiled this list of case studies by monitoring EU and Japanese companies’ activities in Africa and by interviewing some of the companies involved in the projects. The EU-Japan Centre did not contribute to the realisation of these projects, but it aims at promoting best practices and at providing a deeper understanding of these types of partnerships. For a quick overview of all the case studies identified, check our mapping which shows EU-Japan projects in Africa and Southeast Asia.
For more information about these case studies, please contact the EU-Japan Centre at: EJ3A(at)eu-japan.or.jp
Published: December 2023