JICA-RI Held a Seminar on "Industrial Policy towards African Development"

In preparation for the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) to be held in Yokohama in June 2013, JICA-RI organized an open seminar entitled “Industrial Policy towards African Development” on March 22, 2013.

It has been widely recognized that structural change is vital for long-term economic growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries. Therefore, attention has been paid on the importance of growth strategy and industrial policy for enhancing structural change. However, despite significant economic growth in Africa, only limited economic structural change is observed. For sustainable economic growth, it is a pressing agenda to identify an effective growth strategy and industrial policy for advancement of structural change. In light of the current situation in Africa, this seminar was convened with an aim of extensively discussing industrial policy and the role of development assistance in Africa.

In his keynote speech on “Industrial Policy for Africa: Why, What and How?” Dr. Page stressed the importance of structural change as a challenge of African industrial policy. He showcased specific plans for industrial policy in Africa: creating export markets through industrial agglomerations; firms’ capacity building by strengthening the policies and institutions to attract direct foreign investment; establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs); and building a corridor to link natural resources and coordinated investments. Further, he pointed out that close cooperation with the private sector is essential to promote industrial policy. He also made suggestions, such as drawing on the industrial policies from Asian countries that succeeded in economic growth, as well as studying successful cases in African countries.

First, Professor Otsuka, agreeing with Dr. Page’s views on business capabilities and industrial cluster support, suggested concrete measures on how to reinforce them; he stressed the importance of learning from abroad or the knowledge transfer through professional training, with case studies on management training in Ghana and Ethiopia from Africa, and Bangladesh from Asia. Management training, Prof. Otsuka said, is a significant learning opportunity for entrepreneurs to improve management practices and business performances. He also pointed out the importance of managerial human capital as well as management practices in Africa.