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The eighth edition of Ticad, the Tokyo conference for development in Africa, completed its work this Sunday in Tunis. During these two days, nearly 300 businessmen including 100 from Japan came to prospect for future investments. For the few startups present, it was also an opportunity to approach new markets or develop the already existing partnership with Japan.
With our correspondent in Tunis, Lilia Blaise
On the sidelines of conferences and plenary sessions, the entrepreneur Foued Kamel is advancing at a run. He wants to show the Japanese present at the Ticad, his prototype of an amphibian plane, exhibited in real size in the garden of the city of culture in Tunis: “ Our plane, it can fly up to 1600 kilometers 8 hours and it can land on the sea in calm areas. He and his brother, founders of the Tunisian light aircraft startup Avionav, hope to conquer a new market, the Japanese territory. “ We are looking for customers and new markets because the investment has already been made and we have invested a lot in technology, in the design “, explains Foued Kamel.
African companies attract Japanese investors
Mary Mwangui, a Kenyan entrepreneur at the head of Data Integrated Limited, a start-up specializing in digital solutions for the public transport system, was able to develop her project thanks to a Japanese partnership: “ Our partnership with Toyota is very broad, they financed us on the one hand and above all, we build digital solutions that also work with their ecosystem, so when we market our product, we can also collaborate with Toyota and attract their customers. »
And the African continent is very attractive for the Japanese private sector. In 2021, the amounts invested in start-ups on the continent have tripled compared to 2020 and new companies are constantly being created.
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