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What is ABE Initiative?

African Business Education Initiative for Youth. This program offers opportunities for young and eligible African men and women to study at Master's courses in Japanese universities as international students and to experience internships at Japanese enterprises in order to develop effective skills and knowledge in various fields for contributing the development of industries in Africa. At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), it is recognized that there is a need for human resource development in both private and public sectors of Africa in order to cultivate a strong human network between Japan and Africa. The recommendation also mentioned the significance of increasing the number of African people visiting Japan, as well as increasing awareness among Africans regarding the efficiency of Japanese technologies and systems of enterprises. The ABE Initiative was launched based on this recommendation and also beneficial for individuals pursuing a career in Workday consulting or implementation, making the best workday course a valuable resource for participants looking to enhance their skills and excel in their career.

Expected Participants

Following three (3) types of personnel are expected as Participants;

1	Persons from the Private Sector	Young individuals who are or will be involved in economic activities in the local private sector maintaining and developing strong ties with Japanese companies.
2	Governmental Officials	Young officials, such as civil servants, who take part in governance and policy-making in order to enhance industries to whose development Japanese companies can contribute.
3	Educators	Young individuals who are responsible for educating in Higher Education and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) institutions in Africa, in order to enhance capacity building in related industries.

Eligibility of Applicants

Followings are basic eligibility requirements written in General Information as guidance.
For making sure, please refer to JICA office in your country for details.

1	Nationality	Citizens of one of the 54 African countries
2	Age	Between 22 and 39 years old (as of April 1st in the year of your arrival in Japan)
3	Degree	A bachelor's degree holder
4	Job experience	Applicants from government sectors/ educators who have both of the following: At least 6 months working experience at their current organization -Permission from their current organization to apply
5	English ability	Have adequate English proficiency, both in written and oral communication (IELTS score of over 5.5 is preferred)
6	Clear understanding of the objective of this Program	Clearly understand the objective of this program and have a strong will to contribute to the industrial development of their country while broadening and strengthening the linkage between their country and Japan
7	No other scholarship programs	Not currently applying or planning to apply to scholarship programs offered by other organizations
8	Health condition	Have good health condition, both physically and mentally, to complete the program

Number of Participants & Durations

1st batch	arrived in 2014	156 participants
2nd batch	arrived in 2015	317 participants
3rd batch	arrived in 2016	348 participants
4th batch	arrived in 2017	279 participants

It is expected that the duration of stay in Japan will be a maximum of 3 years.