Co-creation of innovative solutions with Africa
Centre Director Amit Jain speaks at a Nikkei Asia webinar
Africa is increasingly becoming central in the economic and foreign policies of Asian countries. Following the recent TICAD 9 (Tokyo International Conference on African Development), Centre Director Amit Jain joined other distinguished panellists on Asia Undercurrent by Nikkei Asia to unpack some critical aspects of Asia–Africa partnership, especially how Japan is co-creating solutions with Africa.
During the discussion, Amit Jain offered several key insights. Contrary to the narrative that China is the only major player, a host of Asian countries—including India, Japan, the UAE, Turkey, and even Indonesia—are surging investments and deepening engagement with Africa. While Japan’s strategy of “co-creating solutions” is refreshing, it must be more than lip service.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Amit called it “the most ambitious single market experiment carried out anywhere,” urging patience as tariff liberalisation, pilot trade initiatives, and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System take root.
Turning to climate finance, he highlighted the irony that Africa contributes only 3.8% of global emissions yet bears the worst effects. He cited Singapore’s Article 6 agreements with Rwanda and Ghana as examples but stressed the need for “a lot more African agency” in developing robust carbon credit exchanges to ensure finance flows back into Africa.
On security, Amit said, “The real solution is jobs, jobs, and jobs.” The biggest difference partners like Japan can make is by lowering Africa’s cost of finance, which remains several times higher than OECD economies. He proposed two practical steps: recapitalise homegrown institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), and support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are essential for absorbing Africa’s young workforce.
View the full webinar below.
