Africa Kaizen Annual Conference Held in Ethiopia

The Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) was held in Addis Ababa on October 09 and 10. This year, more than 320 participants are attending in-person with many more following the events online. Participants have come from more than 22 countries, mainly from Africa but also from as far away as Argentina, Sweden, Palestine and Japan.

AKAC is organized by JICA in close collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD and this years’ co-host the Government of Ethiopia. During the opening remarks, H.E. Melaku Alebel, Minister of Industry, said, “this conference is a testament to our shared commitment to regional cooperation, collaboration and industrial development and further asserts our interests in enhancing KAIZEN in Ethiopia”.

The conference is focused on sharing the experiences and best practices of KAIZEN practitioners in Africa, to further improve and promote quality and productivity improvement through KAIZEN activities.

During her speech, Ms. Sachiko IMOTO, Senior Vice President of JICA stated, “the cluster strategy formulated by JICA this year aims to contribute to improving the competitiveness of African companies by establishing a mechanism to disseminate the “KAIZEN Approach” to regions in Africa. Through the spread of the KAIZEN Approach, JICA aims to achieve decent work for employees and sustainable industrial development in African countries”.

The second half of the first day included factory visits to two Ethiopian companies for a first-hand look at how KAIZEN is being implemented and being used to cut costs, increase productivity and efficiency and thereby improving the bottom-line for companies.