The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Japan are strengthening their long-standing cooperation to channel more private capital into African economies, build quality infrastructure, and support countries in moving projects from preparation to delivery, according to a press release by the African Development Bank Group published on 17 July 2026. The partnership combines concessional finance, private sector co-financing, project preparation, technical assistance, human capital development, and knowledge exchange. Together, these instruments help African countries design bankable projects, reduce project risk, and connect national priorities to regional and global value chains. The approach reflects shared priorities in quality infrastructure, resilient supply chains, private sector development, and institutional capacity. It builds on the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama in August 2025.
Japan joined the African Development Fund in 1973 and the African Development Bank in 1982. Its partnership with the Bank Group now spans capital subscriptions, grants and concessional loans, private sector co-financing, and bilateral trust funds. The country also supports the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative, the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance, and the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant. The Bank Group collaborates with Japanese institutions including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, and the Japan External Trade Organization. Japan is a leading contributor to the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional window for low-income and structurally vulnerable African countries.
For the seventeenth replenishment (ADF-17), Japan pledged approximately $600 million in grant resources and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative compensation, alongside a yen-denominated concessional loan of approximately $583 million. During ADF-17 discussions, it endorsed a selective approach focused on quality infrastructure, governance, and debt management, while emphasizing critical minerals supply chains, health systems, procurement reforms, and private capital mobilization. The Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative, established by Japan and the Bank Group in 2005, remains the main joint mechanism for private sector development on the continent. Its sixth phase, signed on the sidelines of TICAD 9, has a co-financing target of $5.5 billion for 2026 to 2028. As of December 2025, Japan had provided cumulative contributions of $7.4 billion to the multi-phase initiative.
At the Africa Investment Forum 2025 Market Days in Rabat, startups, trading firms, financial institutions, and development partners gathered at the Japan Special Room to discuss private capital mobilization and the integration of African countries into regional and global supply chains. Discussions highlighted Bank Group-backed examples of Japanese private sector activity, including the 35-megawatt Menengai Geothermal Plant in Kenya, developed with Toyota Tsusho and Fuji Electric, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Agricultural Growth Program, implemented by NEC Corporation.
Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said at the Forum: “These are tangible demonstrations of what is possible when we combine Africa’s opportunities with Japan’s strengths and the Bank Group’s catalytic financing.”
Minoru Hasegawa of Japan’s Ministry of Finance underscored the role of FAPA in helping Japanese firms enter African markets. Since 2005, FAPA has received $128 million in Japanese contributions and financed 111 projects worth $86.8 million.
Through the Policy and Human Resource Development Grant, established in 1994 and now exceeding $44 million in Japanese contributions, Japan provides technical assistance in agriculture, food and nutrition security, climate change, debt management, and health. The grant also backs the Africa-Asia Platform, launched in November 2025 to promote knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and innovation between African and Asian countries. The next phase of the collaboration will focus on implementation. For African countries, the relationship widens access to long-term finance, technical expertise, institutional capacity, and private sector networks. It aligns with the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033 and the reform agenda set out in President Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points.
