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19 min read Africa

RO Long Read: the Africa-Japan bridge (part II)

Japan's involvement in Africa goes beyond capital. Japanese founders have taken the plunge, too.

Dear reader,

A few weeks ago, we published part I of our "Africa-Japan bridge" series. You can read it here.

Part I examined the so-called "first wave" of Japanese VCs investing in Africa.

Part II, published today, examines the the Japanese founders launching startups in Africa. It also dives into the "second wave" of Japanese VCs investing on the continent.

This RO Long Read series is written by RO Correspondent James Mahon. Reach out to him at james@realisticoptimist.io with any ideas, comments, or feedback.

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The Africa-Japan bridge (part II)

Japanese society is stereotyped as being insular. That insularity even has its own term, 'uchimuki'. This trait isn’t carried over into the realm of Japanese commerce.

Post WWII, the Japanese economic miracle was driven in large part by an export-led growth strategy, which ingrained the need for global networks in Japanese business culture’s DNA. 

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