Strengthening Economic Ties: EPSA6 Launched at TICAD9

Yokohama, Japan – The ‍governments of Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB) formalized⁤ a new era of collaboration on Thursday, August 21, 2025, with the signing of a Memorandum⁢ of Understanding (MoU) launching the sixth phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA6) initiative. This agreement establishes a framework⁣ for mobilizing critical resources and fostering development partnerships across the African continent.

the signing ceremony took place during the ⁢ongoing Ninth‍ Tokyo⁢ International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) ‍in Yokohama. Present were Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, President of the Japan⁣ International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Kevin Kariuki, vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank.‍ Japan’s finance Minister, Katsunobu Kato,⁢ also witnessed the pivotal event.

A Meaningful Increase⁢ in Financial Commitment

EPSA6 will provide up ⁤to $5.5 billion in financial support to regional member countries between 2026⁢ and 2028.⁤ This represents a $500 million increase over the ⁢previous phase, EPSA5, demonstrating a growing commitment to African development. Crucially, the initiative⁣ prioritizes ensuring the debt sustainability ‍of recipient nations.

As its inception in 2005, the EPSA⁤ Initiative has channeled $12 billion⁤ in co-financing from JICA‍ and the AfDB into African projects. The new $5.5 billion target for EPSA6 is more than five times the initial $1 billion goal of EPSA1 two ⁢decades⁣ ago, highlighting the deepening partnership between Japan and Africa.

focus on Resilience and Key Development Areas

Building on previous⁢ successes,EPSA6 will prioritize resilience alongside existing key areas of focus: ‍power,connectivity,health,agriculture,and nutrition.Dr. Tanaka emphasized that this expanded focus is⁢ intended to address not only the challenges of climate change but also a broader range of potential shocks impacting African economies.

The⁤ initiative’s non-sovereign ⁣operations component will continue to provide concessional credit lines from JICA to the AfDB, supporting private sector ⁣projects. Past EPSA agreements have already contributed to vital infrastructure developments, ‍including the Bujagali Hydropower⁣ plant⁣ in Uganda, RASCOM (Africa’s ⁢first ⁤Pan-African communication satellite), the East Africa Submarine Cable System, the Lekki Toll Road in Nigeria, and the Kigali Bulk Water Supply in Rwanda.

Building on Past Successes: EPSA5 Achievements

EPSA5, which ran from 2023 to 2025 and ⁢was announced at the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African development (TICAD8) in 2022, is nearing completion of its $5 ⁣billion target. As of today, $4 billion has⁢ been allocated, with an additional $1.6 billion⁢ in projects‍ slated for co-financing by the end of 2025. This is projected to bring total co-financing⁤ under EPSA5 to $5.6 billion by ‍December 2025 – exceeding the initial target by 112%.