At the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, Smart Africa CEO Lacina Koné signed the Minutes of Meetings with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), paving the way for a forthcoming Memorandum of Cooperation.
The planned partnership will target three key areas, strengthening digital skills, fostering innovation, and building infrastructure to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. By equipping young people with future-ready skills and expanding access to technology, the initiative aims to boost entrepreneurship, competitiveness, and economic resilience across the continent.
Smart Africa described the collaboration as a major step in Africa-Japan cooperation, underscoring both regions’ commitment to harness technology for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Partnerships of this kind are critical to Africa’s digital economy, which already contributes billions of dollars annually and is projected to grow rapidly. Enhanced digital capacity helps reduce transaction costs, improve financial inclusion, expand market access for small businesses, and attract greater foreign investment into tech-driven sectors.
