Fully Funded Scholarships for African Graduate Students in Japan 2021

The AfDB and Japan are offering the Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS) Program, a capacity-building project which was initiated in 2017 with the aim of providing two-year scholarship awards to highly achieving African graduate students to enable them to undergo post-graduate studies (i.e. a two-year Master’s degree program) in selected priority development areas on the continent and Japan.

The overarching goal the AfDB and the Government of Japan seek to attain is to enhance skills and human resources development in Africa under the Bank’s High 5s agenda (i.e. “Feed Africa”, “Light up Africa”, “Industrialize Africa”, “Integrate Africa” and “Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa”) and key Japanese development assistance initiatives. JADS's core areas of study focus include energy, agriculture, health, environmental sustainability, and engineering. The program also seeks to promote inter-university collaboration and university-industry partnerships between Japan and Africa.

Upon completion of their studies, the JADS scholars are expected to return to their home countries to apply and disseminate their newly acquired knowledge and skills in the public and private sectors and contribute to national and continental socio-economic development.

The JADS Scholarship provides the recipient with the following benefits:

• Economy class air travel between your home country and the host university at the start of the study program and immediately following the end of the scholarship period.
• Tuition for a graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance usually obtained through the university.
• A monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses, including books.

For scholars engaged in research, a special grant may be available for research and thesis preparation. In special circumstances, computer literacy, preparatory language, and other similar courses may be covered under the scholarship. Please note all JADS scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.

The JADS Scholarship does not cover:

• VISA application(s) costs;
• Expenses to bring and/or support scholar's family members;
• Extra-curricular courses or training;
• Language training not provided by the graduate program;
• Additional travel during the course of the study program;
• Expenses related to supplementary educational materials, field trips, participation in workshops/seminars, or internships; or
• Educational equipment such as computers.

Note: The JADS Scholarship may only supplement, and does not duplicate, any other source of financial support/fellowship you might have. If selected as a finalist or if you are awarded a scholarship, you must inform the JADS if you have other sources of scholarship funds. The JADS stipend may be withdrawn completely or partially if during the scholarship period the program has evidence of additional sources of support.

The program is open to those who have gained admission to an approved Master's degree course at a Japanese partner university. Candidates should be 35 years old or younger; in good health; with a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the energy area or related area; and have a superior academic record. Upon completion of their study programs, scholars are expected to return to their home country to contribute to its economic and social development.

Broadly speaking, nationals of African countries must:

• Be a national of an AfDB member country;
• Be in good health;
• Hold a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree in the energy area (or related field) earned at least 1 years prior to the application deadline date;
• Have 1 years or more of recent development-related experience after earning a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree;
• Be accepted unconditionally to enroll in the upcoming academic year in at least one of the JADS partner universities for a Master’s degree;
• Applicants living or working in a country other than his or her home country are not eligible for scholarships.
• JADS does not support applicants who are already enrolled in graduate degree programs.
• Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of all types of appointments of the African Development Bank Group or a close relative of the aforementioned by blood or adoption with the term "close relative" defined as Mother, Father, Sister, Half-sister, Brother, Half-brother, Son, Daughter, Aunt, Uncle, Niece, or Nephew.

Selection Criteria: 

The Japan Africa Dream Scholarship program uses the following four main factors and the degree of cohesion, to review eligible scholarship applications, with the aim of identifying the candidates with the highest potential, after completion of their graduate studies, to impact the development of their countries.

1. Quality of Education Background
2. Quality of Professional Recommendations
3. Quality of Professional Experience
4. Quality of Commitment to your Home Country
5. Quality of Statement of Purpose

Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS) awards scholarships to applicants who have had at least 1 year of paid employment in the applicant’s home country or in other African countries acquired after receiving the first Bachelor's (or equivalent university) degree within the past 3 years.

The JADS Secretariat uses the following criteria to select the finalists:

• Maintaining a reasonably wide geographical distribution of awards, that takes into account the geographic distribution of eligible applications;
• Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender that takes into account the distribution of eligible applications across gender;
• Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, appear to have limited financial resources;
• Unusual circumstances/hardships, when assessing the employment experience and other aspects of an application.

About AfDB:

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution. The AfDB was founded in 1964 and comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund. The AfDB's mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC). While it was originally headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the bank's headquarters moved to Tunis, Tunisia, in 2003, due to the Ivorian civil war; before returning in September 2014.

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