L-R: Japan’s Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Masato Kanda; African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina; Japan International Cooperation Agency President, Akihiko TANAKA. |
The fifth phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative (EPSA 5), which will commence next year and run until 2025, will be able to provide support of up to $5-billion to the continent’s private sector. EPSA is a partnership between the Government of Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The EPSA initiative was originally announced in 2005, and
EPSA 1 started in 2007, being succeeded by EPSA 2 in 2012, followed by
EPSA 3 in 2017 and then EPSA 4 in 2020.
EPSA 4, which concludes this year, was assigned funding of $3.5-billion.
The announcement of this latest tranche in the EPSA
initiative was made at the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African
Development, in Tunisia. The $5-billion is subdivided into $4-billion being
provided under the current ‘window’, plus up to $1-billion more being allocated
under a new ‘special window’.
The special window is being created by Japan to support
those countries which are increasing their debt transparency and
sustainability, among other reforms, which will steadily and significantly
improve their debt situations.
Further, EPSA 5 adds a new, fourth, priority area for
financial support: agriculture and nutrition. This is because of the importance
of food security. (The three already existing priority areas are electricity,
connectivity and health.)
“Under the severe situation caused by multiple crises,
enhancing resilience and promoting human security are critical components of
Japan’s support for Africa,” affirmed Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) president Dr Akihiko Tanaka.
“EPSA is an essential element of our partnership with the
African Development Bank to tackle social and economic challenges facing the
continent. JICA commits to work with EPSA to create a bright and prosperous
future.”
“EPSA 5 is the kind of cooperation Africa and the world
needs,” highlighted AfDB president Dr Akinwumi Adesina. “Escalating climate
change impacts, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine mean that we must
do even more than we already have done, to mobilise the private sector and
create job opportunities in Africa. The newly signed initiative will positively
impact millions of lives across Africa.”
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