Africa, often referred to as the “greatest frontier of the 21st century”, is apparent from a wide range of statistical data. Africa’s current population of 1.5 billion is forecast to reach 2.5 billion in 2050.^*1 This population is concentrated in younger age groups, with the average age of 19 in 2025 and around 25 in 2050. As a result, Africa is seen as highly promising as a future engine of both production and consumption.

In terms of economic growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts real GDP growth of 4.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2026.^*2 In the mobility market, which is one of the Toyota Tsusho Group’s strengths, automobile unit sales are forecast to grow 1.6-fold by 2030 compared to 2023, while the share of renewables in total power generation is expected to expand from 20% in 2018 to 50% in 2030.^*3

In this land of boundless potential, we are committed to advancing into the future together with Africa.

We began our business in Africa in 1922, starting with the import of raw cotton from East Africa.
Since then, we have built a solid business foundation—primarily in Southern and Eastern Africa—through the expansion of our automotive value chain, infrastructure development, and promotion of renewable energy projects.

In 2012, we invested in CFAO, a French trading company specializing in Africa with a strong presence in Central and West Africa, originally established as Établissements Verminck in 1852. In 2016, we acquired 100% ownership of CFAO. Together, our group has walked alongside the people of Africa for over 170 years.

In 2017, we established our first region-focused sales division, the Africa Division. We embedded “WITH AFRICA FOR AFRICA” into the division’s vision, reflecting our commitment to grow alongside the people and society of Africa. This vision represents our promise to Africa: to listen to local voices, stand shoulder to shoulder, and build the future together.

Under this vision, we now operate a business network across the entire African continent, together with approximately 23,000 employees.
By combining four distinct business domains—Mobility, Green infrastructure, Healthcare, and Consumer—with operations in all 54 African countries, we are achieving steady growth.

We have also built a comprehensive value chain that spans from import and production to retail, aiming to deliver high-quality products and services throughout the region.

The 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) is held in Yokohama on August 20-22, 2025. Since the first conference in 1993, TICAD has been led by the Japanese government in partnership with the United Nations and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC) as a forum for international dialogue on sustainable development in Africa. This conference, where leaders of African countries gather alongside other prominent figures and stakeholders to exchange future visions, is also a major event for us.
We regard TICAD as a key milestone for accelerating our activities in Africa, and we are actively working to realize and expand our business across the continent.

Under on the vision “WITH AFRICA FOR AFRICA” and the key message “for the future children of Africa,” and with sustainability as the overarching theme, we will work through TICAD9 to further accelerate our business in Africa, focusing on the three priority initiatives: Green Economy, Global Health, and Capacity Building.

Electric power demand is expected to rise steeply in Africa as a result of the rapid population increase and the accompanying rapid advance of motorization and digitization. Reliable and low-cost access to sustainable energy would be essential in this scenario, which indicates an important role for electric power supply from renewable sources that take advantage of Africa’s rich natural endowment.

In March 2024, our group established the new company AEOLUS, which promotes renewable energy business in Africa, through a joint venture of CFAO with Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, Japan’s leading renewable energy company.
In its first investment project in August 2024, AEOLUS took a stake in the construction, operation, and ownership of a solar power plant based on a large-scale independent power producer (IPP) scheme in Tunisia. Together with its wind power generation business in Egypt, this adds up to a total power generation of 1GW, which will contribute not only to Africa’s economic growth but also to CO₂ reduction. Furthermore, we are building a green energy value chain that not only generates renewable energy but also connects it with distribution and utilization, for example by promoting the widespread use of hybrid electric vehicles and other environment-friendly automobiles.

Through environmentally friendly green business expansion, we contribute to the realization of a sustainable society in Africa.

Strengthening the healthcare system has become an important issue for Africa. The situation varies from country to country, and initiatives such as optimizing the number of healthcare professionals, providing healthcare infrastructure, and putting in place a safe pharmaceutical distribution network are under way to address regional health issues.

We have been working to enhance pharmaceutical supply and healthcare services while remaining in close touch with local healthcare needs.
Every day, we deliver pharmaceuticals to pharmacies and hospitals in 24 African countries, while in Morocco and Algeria we are engaged in local production of pharmaceuticals under license. Additionally, in 2022 we invested in the major Kenyan pharmacy chain Goodlife Pharmacy (Goodlife), our first involvement in the pharmaceutical retail sector.

Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of maternal mortality, which, together with the high under-five infant mortality rate, has become an important issue. We are also contributing to stable supply of vaccines using refrigerated vaccine transport vehicles, which were the world’s first to obtain the WHO’s Performance, Quality and Safety (PQS) prequalification for healthcare materials. We are also working through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to promote widespread use of maternal and child health handbooks, which are a tool to support continuous care for pregnant and nursing mothers and their babies. We have donated a cumulative total of approximately 810,000 of these handbooks to Angola’s Ministry of Health. Moreover, through CFAO, we have published a white paper entitled “Securing the medicine distribution network in Africa.” With most pharmaceuticals imported, insufficient management and regulation of their distribution in Africa allows counterfeit items through, which has cost many lives. In the white paper, we call for increased cooperation to help raise awareness, guarantee the safety of the official pharmaceutical supply chain, and eradicate illegal networks.
We contribute to global health by supporting the realization of a healthy society in Africa, with a mission to ensure access to high-quality pharmaceuticals and to stand alongside the health of the African people.

In Africa with its growing population, the younger generation represents the vital force of society and has enormous potential to drive the development of industry. This raises good prospects for employment creation responsive to local needs in a variety of sectors.

Through its business, we are promoting employment creation and the development of industrial human resources. In the mobility domain specifically, we are devoting energies to building a safe and convenient mobility society at local level. In Kenya (2014) and Angola (2020), we established academies to train technical professionals such as automotive mechanics, and approximately 500 mechanics have received training to date. At the Toyota Kenya Academy, we also train technicians in fields beyond automotive, such as construction and agricultural machinery. In addition, we offer programs on leadership and management, contributing to the development of human resources who will lead Africa into the future.

In recent years, we have also been engaged in human resource development in collaboration with UN agencies. In countries such as Uganda, which hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa, we have supported refugees in acquiring automotive maintenance skills. To date, we have provided training to approximately 200 individuals from diverse backgrounds.

We contribute to creating local employment and developing industrial human resources through our business activities.

Passionately committed to the vision of “WITH AFRICA FOR AFRICA”, we are advancing together with the people and society of Africa. This achievement has been made possible through the understanding and collaboration we receive from local communities across the continent. Our ultimate goal goes beyond simply completing investments and projects. Instead, we strive to be present ourselves on the frontline and pursue locally focused initiatives from an ongoing and medium- to long-term perspective. We believe that continuing to walk alongside Africa is the most effective path continent. Toward a sustainable future for the continent.
Our focus is therefore not only on business. An important task for Toyota Tsusho is to also provide human resource development for the local population, supporting Africa’s autonomous economic growth.
We will continue working for the future children of Africa to create a better Earth and realize a sustainable society.