Future Africa to support new Africa–Asia partnership on innovation, skills and leadership development

Future Africa, the University of Pretoria’s (UP) pan-African platform for collaborative research, will support the implementation of a new partnership between the University of Pretoria (UP), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the University of Tokyo. The agreement was formally signed on 14 November 2025, with UP represented by Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Francis Petersen. The partnership is financially supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan Trust Fund administered by the AfDB.

The initiative aims to strengthen Africa–Asia cooperation in innovation, sustainable industrialisation and leadership development. It focuses on building the skills, networks and institutional capacity required to advance inter-regional public–private partnerships, particularly in agribusiness, entrepreneurship, digital innovation and emerging technology sectors.

Future Africa, together with the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy, will lead the implementation of the programme. The platform’s involvement reinforces UP’s commitment to addressing complex societal challenges such as unemployment, climate change, biodiversity loss and economic insecurity.

The partnership builds on the outcomes of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama in August 2025. TICAD 9 emphasised opportunities for deeper Africa–Asia cooperation in areas such as technological development, digital transformation, innovation ecosystems, youth employment, infrastructure development and sustainable economic growth. The new programme aligns with these priorities by supporting research and networking capacity, SME development and youth entrepreneurship.

Read the official news release here