JICA launches the NINJA Accelerator program in South Africa

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

JICA’s overall goal in this program is to explore cooperation models between local startups and Japanese companies and contribute to the development of the local startup ecosystem through private sector innovation.

In addition to proof-of-concept and pilot projects with NEC for January 2025. This program aims to help startups validate solutions, scale their operations and achieve sustainable growth through corporate partnerships and mentoring.

Yosuke KoideGeneral Manager, Global Synergy Development, NEC XON: “NEC Given our assets, footprint across the African continent and connection to Japan, we look forward to confirming the strategic fit and exploring potential collaborations with three exciting startups so that we can diversify beyond our existing portfolio of solutions such as communications, security and infrastructure and business digital, but also with an impact on society, such as smart agriculture, AI Analytics predictive solutions.”

The selected startups are:

• Raft – A 90% Black-owned company innovating in artificial intelligence with Shuri AI, an autonomous software and hardware platform for securing, monitoring and controlling critical infrastructure in the telecommunications, energy, rail and water industries.
• Agrilogiq – A startup revolutionizing the agritech sector thanks to advanced software and hardware enabling farmers to connect to their greenhouses.
• Locstat – An AI technology platform that uses graph-based artificial intelligence and data analytics to help organizations rapidly scale next-generation data intelligence solutions such as real-time monitoring.

Yannick Gayamamanaging director of Double Feather Partners: “Currently, the continent lacks diverse programs and corporate engagement to support start-ups across the value chain. While traditional accelerators remain essential, more innovative programs need to be developed to engage more companies seeking strategic startup returns, support VCs in exploring exits, and help startups achieve growth through corporate partnerships. We are proud that JICA has given us the opportunity to run this program with our partners in Japan and South Africa.”

Here are the highlights of the NINJA acceleration program:

• Proof of Concept (PoC) with NEC XON: Startups will have the opportunity to co-design and conduct a three-month PoC with NEC XON to validate strategic fit and commercial partnership potential.
• Access to knowledge, resources and networks: Access the Program network and, depending on PoC, the network of NEC XON partners and customers.
• Support tailored to your needs: Local and international mentoring and workshops focusing on priority challenges, including technical support and guidance from NEX XON experts.
• Extracurricular activities: To support funding and partner acquisition, ventures will network, showcase their activities and PoCs by participating in exclusive cohort events, including a week-long trip to Japan organized by JICA in 2025 (participation subject to program participation and commitment).

The NINJA Accelerator is a joint venture supported by JICA, led by Double Feather Partners and supported by Deloitte Tohmatsu in Japan and 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