Trends in the simultaneous expansion of Japanese companies into different African countries

Abstract

This study analyses the year-by-year and country-by-country expansion patterns of 656 Japanese companies into the African continent during 2013-2019. It analysed in detail the expansion trends in several countries of a group of 64 companies with similar expansion patterns identified by clustering analysis from previous study (Morio, 2022). An intercomparison of company expansion patterns by country and year revealed that in some countries the pattern changed dramatically between pre-2015 and post-2017. The countries showing these changing patterns were concentrated in Eastern Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and Southern Africa, including Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. This may be due to the fact that many companies are based in Kenya and South Africa, making it relatively easy for them to expand into neighbouring countries with common markets and business practices. In fact, most of the new companies entering several Southern African countries since 2017 had established themselves in South Africa before 2015. However, only about half of new companies expanding into several countries in Eastern Africa had established a presence in Kenya before 2015.