JICA Kenya Office

Welcome to JICA Kenya home page which serves Kenya, Burundi, Eriteria, Seychelles and Somalia.

Kenya
Kenya is said to be the economic powerhouse in the Eastern Africa region. The mainstay of Kenya's economy is agriculture, contributing over one third of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with manufacturing and tourism taking second and third places respectively.  Kenya’s economy is now performing steadily as the country capitalizes on its favourable geographical positioning and abundant human resource.

The post elections conflict witnessed in 2008 was an unfortunate incident but Kenyans must be commended for their efforts in averting the conflict before it escalated into a civil war - like was witnessed in several African countries in the 1990s. Kenyans were able to surmount the political crisis and are putting the country back to its promising track. 

JICA in Kenya
JICA’s aid in Kenya started in 1963 soon after the country gained its independence.  Today Kenya remains the top recipient of Japanese aid in Africa.

Institutions like Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)- one of Kenya’s leading university, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) -a leading centre for research in medicine in the region, and Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI)- a leading research institute in forestry and allied natural resources in the region, are names almost synonymous with JICA.  These are some of the institutions that JICA has supported since their establishment and which are now self sustaining providing services for not only Kenya but also other countries in the region.

JICA also dispatches Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) to Kenya.  The volunteers are professionals in a variety of disciplines and are willing to use their skills to empower the local people while taking part in development activities.  They live amongst the local communities and are even able to speak local languages.  To date about 1400 JOCV have been dispatched to Kenya. I am honored to say that their performance is highly rated by the Kenyan people.

Apart from Kenya, the JICA office in Kenya supports activities in Burundi, Eriteria, Seychelles and Somalia.

Regional Focus
A variety of problems in the region transcend national borders.  It is therefore vital to tackle issues as a region rather than focusing on only one country.  Hence the Regional Strategy Unit which is based at the JICA Kenya Office, and whose mandate is to strengthen activities in program/project formulation, monitoring & evaluation and aid strategy formulation in the region. 

TICAD (Tokyo International Conference for African Development) is an international platform for discussing and charting the direction of African development.  Prioritized issues such as accelerating economic growth, ensuring human security including achieving the MDGS, consolidation of peace, and combating climate change among others were emphasized at TICD IV which was held in 2008.  Various activities in JICA Kenya and the region are being implemented in line with this.

The situation in Africa is changing and the needs for support are changing too.  It is paramount for development partners to consider these changes and respond accordingly.  JICA Kenya is making effort to address Africa’s problems and contribute to development in Africa.

Masaaki KATO, Chief Representative
JICA Kenya Office