South Africa: Wesgro, the official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape participated in the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) Business Expo and Conference. The event was observed for two consecutive days i.e. from Wednesday, August 20, 2025 to Friday, August 22, 2025 in Yokohama, Kanagawa in Japan. Their mission is to unlock access to new markets and strengthen the economic relationship of SA with Japan.
Reportedly, the growth story of Africa is in much focus with AfCFTA which is set to open major opportunities as the population will rise to 2.5 billion by the year 2050. South Africa was highlighted as an ideal launchpad for Japanese companies who desire to expand across the continent.
For Wesgro, the major highlight at the event was to witness the MoU that was signed between Fujifilm’s NURA health and InuGroup, based in Cape Town. The deal will pave the way for first AI-powered NURA health screening centre of Africa in Cape Town.
Japan’s TICAD9 has showcased exciting investment opportunities across Food and Beverage, which also includes agriculture, Life Sciences and Health, Mobility, Logistics, Tech and the Green Economy. These are all priority sectors for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
Furthermore, the Green Hydrogen sector of South Africa and the growing Japanese VC interest in tech has emerged as particular prominent themes.
Wesgro is looking forward to deepening their ties with JETRO – Japan External Trade Organisation, which is the renowned Japanese Chamber of Commerce in South Africa. Their objective also follows to strengthen bonds with its members to further grow trade and investment ties with Japan.
TICAD9 features 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
The 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) will continue their efforts with the Japanese Government to support African-led development. The event also featured the prestigious awards ceremony for the 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.
Notably, TICAD is an initiative of the Government of Japan. With TICAD, Japan aims to build strong ties with African countries. The first TICAD conference took place back in 1993. It is co-hosted by the United Nations (UN), UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and African Union Commission (AUC).