On August 21, Reiwa 7 (2025), at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) held in Yokohama, the Government of Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced financial cooperation of up to $5.5 billion over three years from 2026 to 2028 under the 6th phase of the Enhanced Partnership for Africa's Private Sector Development (EPSA6). This represents a $500 million increase from EPSA5 (2023-2025), which totaled $5 billion.
Priority Areas and New Initiatives in EPSA6
EPSA6 has added "resilience," including disaster risk reduction, as a new priority area alongside the existing four sectors: "power, connectivity, health, and agriculture & nutrition." This expansion aims to strengthen Africa's climate change resilience and build sustainable development foundations. For government support, the Accelerated Co-financing Facility for Africa (ACFA), conducted jointly by AfDB and JICA, will strengthen assistance to countries working to improve their debt situations under the G20 Common Framework or IMF programs, achieving development cooperation with due consideration for debt sustainability.
Introduction of Innovative Financial Schemes
For private sector long-term support (NSL: Non-Sovereign Loans), a new facility has been established to support AfDB's non-sovereign operations through yen loans from JICA to AfDB. By leveraging the concessional nature of yen loans, AfDB can reduce lending rates to private companies, mobilizing more private capital. Additionally, through the "JICA Africa Impact Investment Initiative" (IDEA: Impact Investing for Development of Emerging Africa), totaling $1.5 billion in public-private investment for social impact solutions, the collaborative relationship between JICA and AfDB will be deepened.
Minister Kato's Policy Statement and Strategic Significance
Minister of Finance and Financial Services Katsunobu Kato stated at the signing ceremony that "EPSA, which began in 2005, has leveraged Japan's funding and technology along with the African Development Bank's local knowledge and presence to support Africa's private sector through private financing as well as government support including infrastructure development." He evaluated the 20-year track record and announced that EPSA6 will enhance functions including strengthened support for debt issues, implementing up to $5.5 billion in assistance over three years.
Development of Long-term Partnership
JICA President Akihiko Tanaka reported that "EPSA has reached its 6th phase, and JICA-AfDB co-financing has reached approximately $12 billion over these 20 years." He expressed intention to actively engage in new initiatives including "Mission 300," a joint AfDB-World Bank initiative to promote African electrification, and debt issue support. AfDB Vice President Kevin Kariuki praised EPSA as "the largest and longest-running bilateral partnership" and emphasized the implementation of new private sector support utilizing blended finance.
Strategic Contribution to African Economic Development
EPSA aims to maximize the economic potential of the African continent, which is expected to see market expansion driven by abundant natural resources, a young demographic structure, and rapid population growth, while strengthening mutually beneficial relations between Japan and Africa. Since its announcement at the 2005 G8 Gleneagles Summit, it has been continuously updated at TICAD, and EPSA6 has solidified its position as the core framework of Japan's development cooperation policy toward Africa.