The Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), co-hosted by the Japanese government, the United Nations (UN), and others, will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from August 20 to 22, 2025. Forecasts predict that Africa's population will account for one-quarter of the world's population in 2050. Meanwhile, it is experiencing rapid growth and appears poised to be the greatest frontier in the 21st century. Comprised of 54 countries, Japan regards the continent as an important partner. NEC has participated in TICAD since 2008, playing a pivotal role in solving problems through the use of technology. We spoke with two NEC employees responsible for TICAD9-related activities to get a better understanding of NEC's presence in Africa and the reasons behind it, as well as what is happening on the front lines of its efforts.

Partnering with international organizations to promote sustainable initiatives

Miho Hara, who is responsible for Africa and belongs to the International Cooperation Business Department, reflected on where NEC was at just ten years ago, saying, "At the time, the person in charge of Africa would visit countries there one by one to introduce NEC's biometric technologies." Shifting to where NEC finds itself today, she told us, "We're beginning to realize that the seeds we planted a decade ago are slowly bearing fruit and becoming interconnected." NEC's business presence in Africa dates back 60 years, with its development backed by partnerships with international organizations, especially in recent years.

In 2013, NEC publicly announced the "social value creation" message—the origin of its Purpose—two years ahead of the adoption of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by all of its member states in 2015. The partnerships formed between NEC and international organizations, which have evolved thanks to the cohesion between NEC's direction and the goals of the international community, are considered unprecedented even among Japanese companies.

Mariko Kitahama, who belongs to the same department as Hara, emphasized, "NEC is an IT expert. Rather than doing everything ourselves, we offer our IT expertise and partner with international organizations that possess extensive knowledge of local social issues and have earned the trust of local governments and citizens. This enables us to nurture NEC's technologies from the research stage, creating solutions that can be swiftly and effectively deployed locally."

In addition, NEC has positioned the support it provides to Africa as part of its Creating Shared Value (CSV) activities rather than Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, securing dedicated staff and activity budgets to develop it as a sustainable venture in Africa. This has also been a pioneering initiative that sets NEC apart from other companies. According to Hara, "Support for the international community should not be temporary, but rather a continuous effort aimed at regional independence and development. To that end, it is important for NEC to ensure that its business is sustainable."

Earning trust and creating new value through the conclusion of memorandums of understanding

NEC has broadly publicized its activities and sought out business opportunities through TICAD. Plans are slated to feature exhibits, agricultural ICT seminars, and more centered on the theme of climate change at TICAD9, and NEC has been deepening discussions with African countries and international organizations in preparation.

As part of its efforts to strengthen partnerships, NEC has concluded several memorandums of understanding (MOU) with African governments and international organizations over the years to agree on the direction of their joint initiatives. While MOU are not legally binding, they do help in building consensus on the direction of mutual activities and creating relationships of trust. In fact, the MOU concluded with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda at TICAD7 led to a project with another Rwandan ministry. Knowing that NEC had concluded an MOU with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation gave the other ministry peace of mind about putting their trust in NEC when it comes to ICT. This is a prime example of how just one MOU can give NEC another chance to provide value.

NEC plans to conclude several MOU at the upcoming TICAD9 as well.

Applying NEC technologies to localized solutions

It is also important to cultivate NEC's technologies and solutions in a way that makes them readily usable in a manner suitable for and pleasing to local markets. For example, when proposing CropScope, NEC's agricultural ICT platform, firsthand information from relevant international organizations was studied to create a solution customized for the situations facing farmers. This is a hybrid method where the standard specifications have been altered so that sensors are no longer needed to detect field conditions, manual input is required, and the management of farmland conditions is digitalized. NEC has also proposed the use of an IC card called an "e-voucher" to streamline the management of paper ledgers used by local governments to distribute fertilizer to farmers.

"One of the joys of this job is being able to take the original standard specifications and develop them into customized solutions based on our understanding of regional issues," says Kitahama. Looking ahead, Hara adds, "NEC has evolved from its conventional specialization in telecommunications to address various societal issues by identifying local needs. We are currently considering how we can contribute to Africa's further development by utilizing ICT to resolve agricultural issues."

While assistance to Africa was once centered around large-scale projects involving bridges, roads, and other such infrastructure, the focus in recent years has shifted to ICT. NEC possesses numerous solutions that show potential in the growing African market, and now finds itself at a stage where it is connecting the dots to broaden its reach. NEC will use TICAD as a springboard to further accelerate its collaborative efforts with Africa.

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