And Africa

And Africa Co., Ltd., established in 2017, operates as a specialized consultancy and technology provider focused on facilitating the entry and growth of Japanese businesses in the African market. The company was founded by Yohei Murofushi, who serves as the CEO. Murofushi's journey began during his tenure at a major consulting firm, where he supported Japanese companies with overseas expansion. He later started a marketplace for automotive parts in East Africa. This experience revealed the comparatively low presence of Japanese businesses in sectors beyond automotive, motivating him to establish And Africa to bridge this gap.

The firm's core business revolves around logistics and market entry services. It offers two main software products: "Easy Collect & Drop" (ECD) and "Logi-IQ". ECD is a logistics marketplace platform provided to local logistics companies through a franchise model, which creates opportunities for gig workers. As of March 2024, ECD operates in seven African countries—South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria—as well as the Philippines. Logi-IQ is a logistics Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution designed to improve efficiency for logistics companies in emerging markets through features like route optimization, automatic driver assignment, and performance visualization via business intelligence tools.

For clients looking to enter the African market, And Africa provides a low-cost test marketing service called "Oji Shop". This service utilizes a cross-border e-commerce site and local business partners to gauge product demand. Based on the results, the company offers services such as product localization, buyer sourcing, and business partner matching. Beyond test marketing, And Africa delivers a suite of consulting services including on-site business environment analysis, business model creation, and strategic planning. The company generates revenue by providing these logistics software solutions and a range of consulting services to its clients.

Keywords: Africa market entry, Japan-Africa business, logistics SaaS, last-mile delivery, test marketing Africa, cross-border e-commerce Africa, logistics marketplace, supply chain optimization, emerging markets consulting, route optimization software, gig economy logistics, business partner matching, product localization, business strategy Africa, Yohei Murofushi, Easy Collect & Drop (ECD), Logi-IQ, Oji Shop, Japanese business expansion, Africa trade