Background

Since late 2000s, Kaizen has been promoted in several countries in African continent for quality and productivity improvement (QPI) with the technical support of JICA.   Particularly in recent years, the achievement of Kaizen attracted the interest of an increasing number of government in Africa. Cognizant of such trend, at the occasion of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in 2016, Kaizen received high attention as a promising method in raising quality and productivity, improving standard and ensuring the competitiveness of African firms in the global market.

In 2017, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and JICA launched Africa Kaizen Initiative (AKI) at the occasion of the Knowledge Sharing Seminar held in Nairobi in April 2017. The seminar in 2018 was renamed as Africa Kaizen Annual Conference and was held in Durban, South Africa jointly organized by JICA and NEPAD. In 2019, prior to the seventh TICAD (TICAD VII) to be held in August, the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference will be organized in Tunisia to accelerate momentum, integrate knowledge and mobilize resources for further Kaizen dissemination in Africa.

Objectives of the Conference                             

The conference aims to promote and upgrade Kaizen/QPI practices in African countries through;

1. Mutual learning process of the know-how and practical experiences of Kaizen/QPI activities in Africa and in the world;
2. Strengthening and expanding network among Kaizen/QPI practitioners, promotors  and researchers at the global level;
3. Comprehending and conveying key messages from Kaizen/QPI promoters and practitioners to African heads of states and policy makers at the up-coming TICAD VII and
4. Creating a venue to demonstrate high quality and productivity of work at the Kaizen conference based on Kaizen mind-set and practices.