JICA launches its NINJA Accelerator program in South Africa

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has announced the launch of its NINJA Accelerator program in South Africa, featuring three innovative startups selected for their potential to drive economic growth and social impact. The JICA NINJA Accelerator in South Africa – Open Innovation Edition will accelerate strategic partnership testing with NEC XON, NEC Corporation’s majority-owned pan-African entity.

JICA’s overall aim with this program is to study collaboration models between local startups and Japanese companies and contribute to local startup ecosystem development through private sector innovation.

In addition to proof of concepts and pilots with NEC XON, this NINJA Accelerator will provide startups with mentorship, access to a global network of experts, and opportunities to engage with potential investors and strategic partners not just in South Africa, but also in Japan through a 1-week roadshow scheduled for January 2025. This program is designed to help startups validate their solutions, scale their operations, and achieve sustainable growth through corporate partnerships and mentorship.

Yosuke Koide, General Manager, Global Synergy Development, NEC XON: ''NEC XON is proud to participate in this edition of the JICA NINJA Accelerator as we seek to increase our engagement with innovative and nimble companies in the vibrant South African ecosystem. Given our assets, footprint across the African continent, and connection to Japan, we look forward to validating strategic fit and exploring potential collaboration with the three exciting startups in order for us to diversify not only our existing Solution Portfolio such as Communications, Security, Infrastructure and Digital but also Social Impact Business such as Smart Farming, Predictive AI Analytics Solutions.''

The selected startups are:

Raphta – A 90% black-owned business, innovating in the AI space with Shuri AI, an autonomous software and hardware platform to secure, monitor, and inspect critical infrastructure in the telecommunications, energy, railway, and water industries.
Agrilogiq - A startup revolutionizing the agritech sector with advanced software and hardware to connect growers to their greenhouses.
Locstat - An AI technology platform that uses graph-based AI and data analytics to help organizations rapidly scale next generation data intelligence solutions such as real-time monitoring.

Yannick Gayama, Managing Director, Double Feather Partners: ''The continent is currently lacking diverse programs and corporate engagement to support startups throughout their value chain. While traditional accelerators remain essential, more innovative programs must be developed to engage more corporates seeking strategic returns from startups, support VCs for exit discovery, and help startup achieve growth through corporate partnerships. We are proud to have been given this opportunity by JICA to run this program with our Japanese and South African partners.''

Here are the key highlights of the NINJA Accelerator Program:

Proofs-of-Concept (PoCs) with NEC XON: Startups will get an opportunity to co-design and run a three-month PoC with NEC XON to validate strategic fit and commercial partnership potential.
Access to Knowledge, Resources, and Network: Gain access to the Program’s network and, depending on the PoC, NEC XON’s network of partners and customers.
Tailored Support: Local and international mentoring and workshops to focus on priority challenges, including technical support and guidance from NEX XON experts.
Extracurricular Activities: To support funding and partnership sourcing, ventures will network, showcase their business and PoC while participating in cohort-exclusive events, including a one-week trip to Japan arranged by JICA in annuary 2025 (participation based on program participation and engagement).

The NINJA Accelerator is a collaborative effort powered by JICA, led by Double Feather Partners, and supported by Deloitte Tohmatsu in Japan, Startupbootcamp AfriTech in South Africa. This initiative reaffirms JICA’s commitment to addressing Africa’s socio-economic challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation.

www.jica.go.jp

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