In 2017, African Development Bank started a dream scholarship for the students of Africa. African Development Bank started this project by collaborating with Japan Government. Japan Africa Dream Scholarship Program (JADS) aims to provide scholarships to African students for pursuing their postgraduate studies. This fully funded scholarship for African students is a chance for them to enhance their skills and contribute to the development of their respective countries.

African Development Bank has a development agenda and in this fully funded Japan Africa scholarship, the students are encouraged if they want to continue their studies relevant to AFDB’s agenda. The agent points are: “Feed Africa, “Light up Africa”, and “Improve the quality-of-life people of Africa.” As per the given agenda that AFDB basically works and invests in the project that helps in developing the African continent. So, the JADS master’s scholarship focuses on the area of studies that include energy, agriculture, health, sustainability of the environment, and engineering.

The scholarship for graduate students is an opportunity for them to learn the key development skills from the developed country – Japan. The students of Africa will continue their post-graduate studies in Japanese universities, and they will learn the techniques for sustainable development. The dream scholarship will provide a bright opportunity to African students to experience a structured research culture, field trips, assignments, and a chance to be interns of leading Japanese companies.

The fully paid scholarship for African nationals in Japan has many benefits e.g. the provision of airfare, fully covered tuition fee, a monthly stipend, expenses in doing research will be covered. In addition, the universities have a direct link to Japanese industries and students have a high probability to secure a good job while completing their post-graduate studies. JADS, however, demands the students to back to their home countries completion of their degree. The basic purpose of this requirement is to utilize the skills of the scholarship holders – which they have learned in their post-graduate scholarship program in Japan – in the socio-economic development of the African continent.

Japan Africa Dream Scholarship Program (JADS):

Host Country:

•Japan

Course Level:

•Master’s Degree Program

JADS Scholarship Duration:

•Two-year master’s degree scholarship award.

Level and Area of Studies:

•Master’s in the areas of energy, agriculture, health, environmental sustainability, engineering, and a related discipline.

Benefits of the Japan Africa Dream Scholarship Program:

•The full scholarship has the following benefits:

•Economy Class air travel return ticket.
•Full tuition fee covered.
•The Medical Insurance of the student is covered.
•A monthly stipend will be paid to the students for daily expenses e.g. living expenses and
•expenses on buying books.
•A special grant will be given to research scholars for their thesis preparation.

Eligibility Criteria of the Japan Africa Dream Scholarship Program:

•The nationals of the African Development Bank member countries can apply.
•The applicant must be a bachelor’s degree holder (or equivalent) in the field of energy or other
relevant fields.
•The applicant’s bachelor’s degree must not be more than one year old.
•In case the degree is one year old at the time of the deadline of the application, the applicant
must have one year of work experience from the time of completion of the degree to the
application closing date.
•The applicants who are nationals of AFDB member countries, but they do not live in their home
countries are not eligible to apply.
•The applicant must not be the staff of the AFDB group.
•The immediate blood relatives and close relatives of AFDB staff are also not eligible to apply.

Required Documents for the Japan Africa Scholarship:

Following documents are required for the JADS program:

•Most recent Curriculum Vitae.
•Certified copy of the certificate of the most recent degree.
•A research proposal and plan.
•Proof of professional/work experience.
•Two professional references.
•English proficiency score report (TOEFL, TOEC, IBT) or MOI.