JICA ABE Initiative Master’s Scholarship 2027

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The African Business Education Initiative, known as the ABE Initiative, is a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) programme that sends young African professionals to Japanese universities for a master’s degree, followed by an optional internship with a Japanese company or public body. Japan’s then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced it at the TICAD V summit in 2013, and it has run in rounds since. For the 2027 intake JICA plans to accept about 95 participants from across Africa. South Africans apply through the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) International Scholarships office, which collects applications until 28 September 2026 and passes nominees to JICA. DHET points out that the scholarship is JICA’s, not the department’s, and that DHET adds no money of its own.

A master’s in Japan with a business internship attached

The programme period runs from September 2027 to August 2030 at the longest. Within that window a participant may spend up to six months as a research student (a non-degree preparatory status some universities require before the master’s entrance exam), one or two years in the master’s course, and up to six months in an internship after graduating. Classes are in English. JICA’s stated purpose is to build people who can grow African industry and act as a link between Japanese and African business, so interns are placed with Japanese private or public entities during breaks or after graduation. JICA says no pay or compensation changes hands for these internships.

South Africans JICA wants to hear from

DHET’s call sets these South African requirements:

• South African citizenship;
• an age between 22 and 39 on 1 April 2027, given as a guide;
• a bachelor’s degree or B-Tech at NQF level 7 in a field related to the proposed study;
• enough English to study at master’s level. JICA’s general information names TOEFL iBT 80, IELTS 6.5, CEFR B2 or Duolingo 120 to 125 as the benchmark, although each university can set its own level.

Work history matters too. JICA’s rules split applicants into two categories. Private-sector applicants must have work experience and must not be employed by a Japanese company when they join. Government applicants need more than six months at their current organisation, plus the employer’s permission to apply and a guarantee that their post will be kept for them. Jobs held before finishing a degree do not count as work experience.

The target organisations list

Preference goes to applicants who work in the priority sectors and at the organisations named on DHET’s “Target Organisations and Priority Sectors” list. On the government side it names, among others, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, EWSETA and the ETDP SETA, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Water Research Commission, the dtic, the Department of Small Business Development, the Department of Transport, and SANBI, SANParks and the South African Weather Service. Private and state bodies on the list include Eskom, the Technology Innovation Agency, water boards, Business Unity South Africa, SEDA, SEFA, the Agricultural Research Council, AgriSA, the Automotive Industry Development Centre, PRASA, NAACAM and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in South Africa.

The study topic should help South Africa’s industrial development. DHET lists priority fields including AI and digital technology, engineering, the sciences, agriculture, energy, water and sanitation, health innovation, mining, manufacturing, transport, disaster management, biodiversity, public policy, education and entrepreneurship. An MBA will not be prioritised for South African candidates.

Money JICA pays, and costs left to the scholar

JICA’s general information for the ABE Initiative sets out the allowances. Tuition, entrance and examination fees are paid straight to the university at actual cost. The living allowance is JPY 143,000 to 148,000 a month depending on where in Japan the scholar lives. Return airfare is covered, with a once-off JPY 100,000 outfit allowance on arrival and a moving allowance of up to JPY 164,000 to 224,000 depending on accommodation. Research costs are reimbursed up to JPY 360,000 a year through the university with the supervisor’s approval. Medical care is covered for illness that starts after arrival, but not for pre-existing conditions, pregnancy or dental work.

Scholars pay for passport and some visa costs, travel inside South Africa, departure taxes, excess baggage and the health certificate JICA requires by the end of April 2027. Participants may not hold another Japanese government scholarship at the same time, may not work for profit in Japan and may not drive there.

Putting together the email package for DHET

Download the application form and annexes, the general information, the supplemental information for South Africa and the university list from the DHET ABE Initiative 2027 call page. Then email one package to ScholarshipApplications@dhet.gov.za containing:

1. the application form in Excel, with every required sheet, saved under your name;
2. the same form as a PDF with your photograph, your signature and your employer’s endorsement, plus Annexes 1, 2 and 3;
3. certified copies of degree certificates and academic transcripts;
4. a copy of your passport or South African ID;
5. the Form of Enquiry to University, if your chosen university asks for it, and an English test certificate if you have one.

Forms must be typed, every yellow section completed, and “N/A” written where a section does not apply. JICA also warns that using generative AI to write a research plan may lead to rejection under some universities’ policies.

From the October interview to arrival in Japan

After DHET’s document screening, qualifying applicants are interviewed on 14 and 15 October 2026. JICA then sends the research plans of nominees to their first- and second-choice universities for pre-matching between December 2026 and January 2027. Candidates who are matched apply formally to one university only and sit its entrance process between February and July 2027. JICA confirms final participants from July to early August 2027, and the Japanese autumn term starts between August and October 2027. A pass at one stage does not guarantee a place at the next.

Programme questions go to the JICA South Africa Office on +27 (0)12 346 4493, or to Ms Eva Nderumaki (Nderumakieva.SO@jica.go.jp) or Mr Kensaku Akimoto (akimoto.kensaku@jica.go.jp). The JICE help desk that runs the programme for JICA is at africa@jice.org.

DHET handles other government-to-government awards the same way, such as the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. For South African funding of a master’s, see our postgraduate bursaries list and the engineering bursaries hub.

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