Tokyo/Yokohama, 26 August 2025 ― The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) contributed to the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), which took place from 20 to 22 August 2025 in Yokohama, Japan, with a series of thematic side events and two exhibition booths.
Since 1993, TICAD has been a key platform bringing together African leaders, the Government of Japan, the United Nations and other partners to promote Africa’s development through dialogue and partnership. UNIDO has been an active supporter of the TICAD process since its inception.
Leading the UNIDO delegation, Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director Fatou Haidara attended the official TICAD 9 plenary sessions, opened by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan and the African Union Chairperson, President of Angola João Lourenço.
The highlight of UNIDO’s programme at TICAD 9 was the high-level symposium “Leveraging Innovation for Africa’s Industrial Transformation: Building Resilience in a Globalized Economy”, held on 21 August 2025 and co-hosted with the African Union Commission and AUDA-NEPAD. Ministers from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe discussed strategies for innovation and enhanced industrial collaboration with representatives of the Japanese and African private sector and institutions.
Other events during the week further showcased the results of the UNIDO-Japan cooperation and Africa’s potential as partner for the Japanese private sector.
On 19 August, the pitch event of the Africa Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programme (AYSEP), jointly organized by the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) Tokyo and the University of Tokyo, featured nine students presenting innovative business plans refined through field research in Kenya.
In a similar manner, the thematic TICAD session “Youth Igniting a Growth Revolution: Creativity and Entrepreneurship”, co-organized by the United Nations Development Programme, UNIDO, the University of Tokyo, and supported by Keizai Doyukai on 20 August, explored how Africa’s demographic growth and innovation are reshaping the future of work. African and Japanese youth exchanged perspectives on translating research into entrepreneurial ventures and strengthening creative industries. In her remarks, UNIDO Deputy to the Director General Fatou Haidara underlined that “Africa’s youth, skills and creativity are central to industrial transformation, and partnership with Japan can help unlock these opportunities for the continent’s future.”
Skills development was also at the centre of the dialogue “Africa’s Skills, Japan’s Opportunity: A Dialogue on Industrial Vocational Training”, organized by the UNIDO ITPO Tokyo on 21 August. UNIDO Deputy to the Director General Yuko Yasunaga opened the session, which featured case studies from Morocco and Uganda and insights from Japanese companies. The discussion reaffirmed the importance of human resource development as a foundation for Africa’s industrial future.
UNIDO also convened further TICAD partner events highlighting its technical cooperation. The session “Inside Africa’s Factories: Digitizing Ghana’s Manufacturing Floors and Scaling Across the Continent” on 19 August highlighted achievements from UNIDO’s U-SPARK tool, which enhances data-based performance management for small enterprises in manufacturing and is being scaled beyond Ghana in collaboration with the global partners. On 21 August, the seminar “Innovative Plastic Circular Economy Business in Japan and Africa” showcased pioneering approaches to reduce plastic waste and strengthen circular economy practices, featuring panelists from across Africa and Japan.
As part of her visit to Japan, Fatou Haidara, accompanied by Yuko Yasunaga, also met with Yuichiro Koga, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), and Arfiya Eri, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA).
The UNIDO delegation further held meetings with Rui Miguens de Oliviera, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Angola, Louis Watum, Minister of Industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry of Ghana, David Moinina Sengeh, Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, and Sid ’Ahmed Ould Bouh, Minister of Economy and Finance of Mauritania, as well as with Moses Vilakati, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) and Acting Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM) of the African Union Commission and Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
UNIDO and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) further formalized their shared commitment to advancing agribusiness development, food security, and sustainable industrial growth in Africa by signing a joint declaration.
Throughout the week, UNIDO’s exhibition booths at TICAD 9 displayed concrete results from projects implemented across Africa with support from Japan, alongside innovations from Japanese companies offering solutions to pressing development challenges featured on the Sustainable Technology Promotion Platform (STePP) of ITPO Tokyo.
Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director Fatou Haidara at a stand of the STePP booth
By engaging policymakers, private sector leaders, youth and academia, UNIDO’s presence at TICAD 9 reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Africa — with innovation, human capital and industrialization as the drivers of future growth.
Following the TICAD 9 Summit, a special United Nations Day was organized at the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai themed “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. The UN system delegation visiting the exposition site was headed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.