At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), held in Yokohama in 2013, then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced the “African Business Education Initiative for Youth” (hereafter referred to as the “ABE Initiative”). This is a strategic five-year plan providing 1,000 youths in Africa with opportunities to study at Japanese universities as well as to do internships at Japanese enterprises. ABE Initiative builds on the concept that there is a need for human resource development in both private and public sectors of Africa through cultivating a strong human network between Japan and Africa. At the TICAD 7 held in Yokohama in 2019, the initiative was renewed as “ABE initiative 3.0” which would provide opportunities for 3,000 youths in Africa to study and intern in Japan over the next 6 years. Since 2014, more than 1,400 participants from all the 54 countries have ever joined the program, and over 1,200 participants have completed. This has resulted in establishing a wide range of human resource network of ABE Initiative participants. Furthermore, many Japanese companies and ABE Initiative participants have collaborated in various ways to promote the development of private sectors in Africa.
Procedures and Required Documents for Application
Application procedures are described below. (1) Procedures for Applicants For the applicants who apply for FY2023, in principle, application procedures will start by JICA overseas offices’ contacting the respective countries’ governments and the other relevant organizations to provide detailed information of the program. (2) Required Documents for Application for All Applicants Each applicant is required to submit the following JICA’s Application Documents by the deadline set by JICA office in the applicants’ country except for the Health certificate listed below. The applicants who pass the 3 rd Selection* are required to check necessary application documents set by their desired university. After receiving application documents from university, the applicants need to submit them directly to the university by the deadline set by the university. *For those who apply for universities/schools/courses that do not have the 3 rd Selection (Prematching process), applicants must check and submit necessary application documents set by the universities by their respective deadlines after the 2nd Selection.
JICA’s Application Documents
(1) Application Form for ABE Initiative Program FY2023 consists of: 
Personal Information Educational Background Present Organization and Nomination Work Experience Declaration Check List Declaration of desired university placement (Annex 1) Details of Current and Previous Work, Research Plan and Career Plan after Graduation (Annex 2) Medical History (Annex 3) Score of English examination (if any) (2) Undergraduate Graduation Certificate * A copy of “Officially certified copies of the original” is acceptable * Must be written in English or be accompanied with official translation in English (3) Academic transcript * Must contain all the grades earned in the university attended by the applicant. * A copy of “Officially certified copies of the original” is acceptable * Must be written in English or accompanied with official translation in English (4) A copy of Valid Passport with photo (for checking nationality, name, sex, and date of birth). Valid National ID and birth certificate are acceptable if you do not have Passport. Certified English translation must be attached if ID is not written in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish) (5) 2 ID Photos(4 cm×3 cm) pasted on application form (Original and copy). (6) Photocopy of the certificate of official English Tests etc. (if any) (7) Health certificate (in JICA format) to be submitted after the 4 th Selection (applicants who cannot provide certificates may be rejected)
For inquires regarding the General Information, contact the below
JICE: africa@jice.org
All applications should be submitted by email to the following addresses: kouakouchantal.co@jica.go.jp / co_oso_rep@jica.go.jp
The subject of the email should be as follows: “[ABE Initiative FY2023] Submission of Application”
Deadline for submission of applications: 07 October 2022