About Us

AXCEL AFRICA K.K. was founded on 25 May 2022. May 25 is “Africa Day”, marking the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. As a company whose work is Africa, we chose that date.

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I came to Kenya in 2013, posted as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer to Makueni, a town some 200 kilometres from Nairobi. There was no running water. Fourteen years on, I still live in Nairobi. After that I joined a development consulting firm covering the Africa region, and spent six years supporting Japanese companies entering African markets. That is the work we continue at AXCEL AFRICA.

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Working on the ground, the scale of inequality and of basic social problems still takes me by surprise. At the same time, things are happening that were not visible ten years ago: economic growth, and the rise of local startups. Through all of it, the question I keep returning to is how Japanese technology and Japanese people can contribute to Africa’s development.

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In Kenya, Japanese engineering still enjoys a degree of trust, thanks to Toyota and Nissan. Beyond them, though, Japanese companies are honestly barely known here. Meanwhile other countries, China above all, grow more present year by year. It is good for the region when any country invests and the country develops. But I am Japanese, and so I keep coming back to the question of how to connect Japan and Africa.

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In the four years since, we have worked on more than 100 projects. One thing has become clear: business in Africa is decided on the ground, not on paper. We do not stop at the research. We set up the company, hire the people, and stay until operations are running. There is so much you simply cannot know until you go that far!

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I want to build a model in which Japan and Africa co-create businesses that address social problems. If there is something you want to do in Africa, please talk to us — even while it is still an idea.