JICA Government of Japan Scholarship and Internship program for African students is under the “African Business Education Initiative for Youth (ABE Initiative) with the mandate to provide up to 1,000 youths in Africa with opportunities to study at Japanese universities as well as do internships at Japanese enterprises.
The ABE Initiative aims at fostering leaders with proven ability to contribute to Africa’s development in collaboration with the Japanese private sector.

JICA is looking for prominent young South African nationals who are or anticipating to be involved in industrial development activities in both public and private sectors, and who have strong motivation to strengthen economic ties between South Africa and Japan.
About Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south.
Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the “mainland”), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation’s capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.
Japan is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country’s terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 125.5 million on narrow coastal plains. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.4 million residents.
JICA Government of Japan Scholarship Summary
- Host Country: Japan
- Category: Postgraduate Scholarships
- Eligible Countries: All African Countries
- Reward: Full Scholarship
- Deadline: October 7, 2022
Scholarship Details:
The scholarship is an initiative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is advancing its activities around the pillars of a field-oriented approach, human security, and enhanced effectiveness, efficiency, and speed.
A variety of organizations and groups, including governments as well as international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private companies, carry out financial assistance to developing countries for socioeconomic development.
Scholarship Requirements:
Applicants must:
- Be citizens of eligible African countries
- Be less than 40 (as of 1 April 2023)
- Have some work experience
- Have good health condition, both physically and mentally, to complete the program
- Bachelor’s degree (B-Tech included) with honours or equivalent to NQF8 or above
- Minimum average of 65% score in academic transcript
- Have good understanding of the ABE Initiative’s objectives
- Have adequate English skills in both written and oral communication
Scholarship Duration and Reward
- The program provides African youths with opportunities to study at Japanese universities and to work at Japanese enterprises.
- A fully funded offer
Required Documents
To apply, candidates must be ready to submit the following documents;
- Undergraduate Graduation Certificate * A copy of “Officially certified copies of the original” is acceptable * Must be written in English or be accompanied with official translation in English
- Academic transcript * Must contain all the grades earned in the university attended by the applicant. * A copy of “Officially certified copies of the original” is acceptable * Must be written in English or accompanied with official translation in English
- A copy of Valid Passport with photo (for checking nationality, name, sex, and date of birth). Valid National ID and birth certificate are acceptable if you do not have Passport. Certified English translation must be attached if ID is not written in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish)
- 2 ID Photos(4 cm×3 cm) pasted on application form (Original and copy).
- Photocopy of the certificate of official English Tests etc. (if any) (7) Health certificate (in JICA format) to be submitted after the 4th Selection
Method of Application
The registration procedures require interested participants to pay attention to the following documents as it contains series of guides for the application.
- A-3. 2023 Application Form for ABE Initiative (includes Annex1&3) (Excel/316KB)
- A-5. Annex.2 Details of Current and Previous Work, Research Plan and Career Plan after Graduation (Word/22.0KB)
- C-4. Application Form_Cover (ABE, SDGs) (Japanese) (PDF/153KB)
- C-5. Example of Application Form (PDF/916KB)
All applications should be submitted by email to the following addresses: kouakouchantal.co@jica.go.jp / co_oso_rep@jica.go.jp
The subject of the email should be as follows: “[ABE Initiative FY2023] Submission of Application”