NEC Launches Africa Corporate Innovation Program to Collaborate with African Startups

NEC's Initiative to Transform African Agriculture

NEC has recently initiated the Africa Corporate Innovation Program, a strategic move aimed at solving pressing social challenges in Africa, particularly in agriculture and food security. This program represents a significant evolution from NEC’s previous efforts, namely the NEC Innovation Challenge, and is executed in collaboration with the Shell Foundation, based in the UK, and the venture capital firm Double Feather Partners (DFP).

Program Objectives

The primary objective of this program is to enhance collaboration with local startups and contribute to sustainable agricultural practices and bolstering food security within the African context. Thus far, NEC has effectively combined its advanced technological expertise with practical knowledge acquired from years of global business operations to offer data-driven agricultural solutions.

For the past four years, NEC has run a global startup accelerator program through the NEC Innovation Challenge. Looking ahead to 2024 and 2025, NEC plans to participate in the Project NINJA led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), reinforcing its commitment to promoting open innovation across borders.

Program Launch and Schedule

The Africa Corporate Innovation Program commenced in April 2023. Through this initiative, NEC and its partners will select startups that possess the capability to address African challenges. Through these collaborations, the program aims to develop a proven co-creation model that leverages each participating company's strengths.

The timeline for the program is as follows:

- April 2026: Launch and initial discussions with local startups.
- December 2026: Completion of proof-of-concept evaluations.
- March 2027: Measuring the impact and effects of the initiative, followed by a final report meeting.

Voices from Partners

The partnership's impact was emphasized by comments from key figures:

- Masayuki Furukawa, Head of the Private Sector Development Group at JICA, mentioned, “This initiative is expected to significantly contribute to Africa’s economic development, utilizing insights gained from Project NINJA, with a particular focus on enhancing the collaboration between Japanese and African private sectors.”

- Jonathan Berman, CEO of Shell Foundation, stated, “To support the development of Africa and the transition to a low-carbon society, it’s essential to combine excellent ideas, capital, technology, and grassroots entrepreneurship. Through this program, we aim to mitigate risks and help global companies like NEC collaborate with African startups.”

- Kohei Muto, CEO of Double Feather Partners, pointed out that the social challenges in Africa have become a frontier for the fastest-evolving innovation market. “This program serves as a practical platform that bridges the technological prowess of Japanese firms with the ground-level innovation capability of African startups,” he added.

Upcoming Events

In line with this initiative, NEC is set to participate in SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, an event scheduled for April 27-29, 2026. NEC will be speaking on the theme “Beyond Capital: Building Japan–Africa Innovation Through Co-Creation and Investment”. The session will occur on April 27 from 17:05 to 17:50 at Tokyo Big Sight.

Conclusion

NEC is committed to the Open Innovation approach, encapsulated in their slogan, “Let’s make the future.” Through this program, the company aims to create social value by embracing innovative technologies and cross-sector collaborations while shaping a promising future for Africa’s agricultural landscape. For further details about the initiative, stakeholders can visit the NEC Innovation page.