Promoting Kaizen in Africa: 10-Years of Experience of Japanese Cooperation in Tunisia and Ethiopia

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been actively promoting quality and productivity improvement for industrial development in Africa through Kaizen Projects since the 2000s. In particular, Tunisia and Ethiopia have implemented Kaizen Projects three times each, with assistance from JICA spanning nearly 10 years. This chapter compares the 10-year achievements of Kaizen Projects in the two countries and draws the lessons learned. It also identifies the challenges for sustainable development of Kaizen in both countries and examines their implications for development cooperation. The chapter employs an analytical framework consisting of three pillars: (i) the vision, policy, and strategy; (ii) the mechanism, organization, and system; and (iii) three levels of capacity (individual, organizational, and network levels). These three pillars are not only the items for comparison, but also essential elements for sustainable development of Kaizen in Tunisia and Ethiopia. The comparative analysis suggests the importance of six factors for the future dissemination and development of Kaizen in two countries. These are: (i) national leaders’ commitments; (ii) political and administrative stability; (iii) organizational structure for Kaizen dissemination and development; (iv) counterpart and foreign expert teams in customization; (v) capacity required for advanced-level Kaizen; and (vi) industry-government-academia collaboration and the role of development cooperation.