8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) that was held in Tunisia last week was significant for many reasons, one being that this was the second time the conference was held in Africa since Kenya hosted it in 2016.

The forum was not just about achieving sustainable growth with reduced economic equality, realizing a sustainable and resilient society, and building sustainable peace and stability in Africa; but more than that, it was about forging stronger ties with Japan (Japan’s industry) which is a crucial link for the growth and advancement of our own.

 Japan has many lessons from which we can learn. For example, it is hard to believe that in the early 50s and 60s, Japanese products were talked about as imitations and less than stellar. Fast forward to the 80s and the country’s reputation for high-tech inventions such as Nikon and Canon cameras soared above all other industries the world over. 

Among other things, one occurrence that has been credited for this turnaround in Japan was the establishment of The Japanese Society for Quality Control (JSQC) in 1970, that was mandated to oversee the creation of quality products in the country. 

Japan has bequeathed to the world the principles of lean manufacturing such as, Just in Time (JIT), KAIZEN, 5S, KANBAN, just to mention a few. These principles are currently being implemented by a number of manufacturing companies in Kenya to eliminate waste and promote efficiency. 

But without limiting them to industry if applied on a larger scale to all businesses then, we are bound to see a huge difference in our daily operations that in turn impacts on the macroeconomics to deliver sustainable economic development. Aside from the technological knowledge transfer that makes Japan’s experience quite essential to our economic goals, the subtle yet stronger and more long-lasting skill that the Japanese can impart can be found in the above-mentioned philosophies. On this note, there is an increasing demand for skilled labour in industries in Kenya, among African countries with demand for improved quality of goods and services that meet international investor standards. 

Knowledge transfer and development between Africa and Japan have an opportunity to stimulate the creation of a sustainable development process and promote investment and innovation, particularly for the manufacturing sector. 

In our country, for instance, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has partnered with the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) to drive human resource development, with the support of the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).  Through this partnership, KAM aims at enhancing business ties between its members and Japanese companies. Additionally,  it wants to encourage increased uptake of the Kaizen culture and shift towards lean automation, using tools such as the Internet of Things (IOTs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Increased productivity and quality are key components to improved trade and trade relations in Africa. And if we keep improving the standard requirements as we trade with each other, we continue to elevate our value in the global markets. Additionally, the quality upgrading mechanism can also be triggered through reverse engineering which in turn can lead us to innovation. 

The axis of the global economy has been turning eastwards for a while now and it is time for us to explore additional trading partners whilst keeping a strong focus on what we want to achieve as a country. Kenya has been the largest beneficiary in Africa of Japanese goodwill and can now take it further, to increase our competitiveness and use the skills transfer as catalyst to reach our goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030.   

— The writer is the Ag. CEO Kenya Association of Manufacturers 

[email protected].