Japan-U.S. Cooperation in African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)

By Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Click for Full Image Size

TOKYO, Japan, August 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 1. As a part of Japan-U.S. development cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will give a seminar on August 5th to the participants of the fifth annual AWEP International Visitor Leadership Program hosted by the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. . The 29 Sub-Saharan African exchange participants will be in Washington July 31-August 6 to participate in forums on the margins of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, held from August 4th to 6th.

2. This collaboration is mentioned in “Fact Sheet: U.S.-Japan Global and Regional Cooperation,” which was issued when U.S. President Barack Obama visited Japan and met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in April this year. It is one of the efforts in which Japan and the United States are cooperating in the area of vocational development and capacity building of African female entrepreneurs.

3. Japan and the United States have been strengthening cooperation to support African women entreprenuers as a key mechanism to foster trade, investment and development in sub-Saharan Africa. This collaboration is one of the concrete achievements of Japan-U.S. development cooperation.

[Reference 1] Concrete contents of the Japan-U.S. collaboration

On August 5th, JICA will host the “JICA session” to convene a workshop by Mr. Koichi Ieki (a former JICA senior volunteer) on “5S KAIZEN” for 29 African women business leaders participating in AWEP. In addition, JICA will invite Ms. Rumiko Seya (Director, JCCP M Co.,Ltd. / President, Japan Center for Conflict Prevention) and Ms. Bongiwe Kali (a business woman in South Africa) as panelists to hold a panel discussion which will be organized under the theme of strengthening the business partnership between Japan and Africa. Furthermore, on August 6th, the United States will host a networking event for female entrepreneurs in which Japanese officials and the above-mentioned two panelists will participate.

[Reference 2] “Fact Sheet: U.S.-Japan Global and Regional Cooperation”(extract)

Advancing Development around the World

The United States also took part in a Japanese-led program for African entrepreneurs and government officials in Yokohama, Japan, in February, and Japan is supporting the U.S. International Visitor Leadership Program for African female entrepreneurs in summer 2014. The United States and Japan are also collaborating to provide professional development and capacity building services to African women entrepreneurs through the U.S. African Womens Entrepreneurship Program and the Japan-Africa Business Women Exchange Program.