Japan-Nigeria Relations
Foreign Minister Kamikawa’s Visit to Ventures Park (startup accelerator hub)
April 30, 2024
On April 30, commencing at 4:00 p.m. local time (May 1, 0:00 a.m. JST) for approximately 45 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting the Federal Republic of Nigeria, visited Ventures Park, startup accelerator hub in Nigeria.
- Minister Kamikawa received a briefing from Ms. Tracy Isaac OKORO, CEO of Ventures Park, on the company's support activities, including mentorship, funding assistance, and provision of market access for startups in Nigeria, the country which is full of energy in the field of innovation. In addition, several participating Nigerian startup entrepreneurs explained how they are working on businesses that lead to solutions of social issues by receiving support from Ventures Park and the challenges for sustainable operation of start-up business.
- In response, Minister Kamikawa stated that Japanese venture capital firms, which focus on Nigeria's potential, are contributing to the strengthening of the startup ecosystem by investing in startup companies, and expressed her desire to link the vitality of Nigeria's growth to Japan's growth by promoting cooperation in the field of startup and strengthening bilateral economic ties in Nigeria where the number of successful examples of companies providing high value-added services and contributing to solutions of social issues through utilization of digital technology.