Four Tanzania companies and startups along with other five (05) African countries participated in the Innovation Management for Africa (AFIM) program in Tokyo, which ran for two weeks, from December 6th to 19th, 2023. The program was organized by The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) facilitated by the Japanese Government through JICA. 

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Kuwayama Shinya, President of AOTS, explained that the program has been running for more than ten years, and is designed for those who wish to develop new businesses in Africa. He further disclosed that AOTS is an organization dedicated to human resources development mainly in overseas countries, promoting technical cooperation through training, expert dispatch, and other programs aimed at contributing to the mutual economic growth of developing countries and Japan, as well as enhancing friendly relations among them. 

This year's program was the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic and it featured lectures, exercises, and case studies of Japanese companies namely, Toyota and Daikin in their innovation centers in Osaka. Participants learned how to discover business opportunities, create new value, and formulate business models outside the framework of existing systems and common sense. The aim was to develop human resources capable of planning innovative new businesses. 

The Tanzanian companies that engaged in the program this year comprised, D & L (T) Limited, Mwananchi Communications Limited, True Vision Production (T) Ltd, and KAYPEE Motors. In Tanzania, the program is coordinated by the Organization for Technical Enhancement and Industrial Development (OTIDE), which is the Tanzania Alumni Society of AFIM.