Japan and the African Development Bank has announced a joint target of $3.5 billion under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative (EPSA4).
Japan’s State Minister of Finance, Mr. Keisuke Suzuki made this known during the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) held in Yokohama.
He said both Japan and the Bank have set a target of $1.75 billion each, from 2020-2022, to enhance the fourth phase of EPSA to spur private-sector-led sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa.
“Building on the successful achievements so far, Japan and the Bank have decided to upgrade EPSA in both quality and quantity to meet financial needs for infrastructure development as well as for the private sector development in Africa,”
“I wish that the new EPSA initiative will lead to business, investment promotion, and job creation in Africa,” Mr. Suzuki noted.
According to the President of the African Development, Akinwumi Adesina,
“Today marks another day to celebrate the strong and impactful partnership between Japan and the African Development Bank. The African Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are long-term partners for promoting the development of Africa. EPSA helps to deliver much needed to support the private sector,”
“Under EPSA 4, JICA and the African Development Bank will provide co-financing of $3.5 billion. This is a significant increase over EPSA-3. Increase is what we need to meet the needs of Africa. Increase is what we need to raise the level of our ambitions for Africa.
“Increase is what we need to build upon the solid foundations of co-financing over the last 13 years, and deliver even greater and more impactful development results in the years ahead. Now, let us arise with renewed vigor. Let us deliver even greater impacts for African countries through EPSA 4,” Dr. Adesina concluded.
The ongoing EPSA3 (2017-2019), Japan and the African Development Bank are cooperating closely to provide the targeted joint amount of $ 3 billion.
