Final Activity Results (Co-creation Period: September 2023–August 2026, 3 years)

Summary of Social Impact Self-Assessment

Against the KPIs set in the logic model, we achieved our partner number targets (26 against a short-term target of five, and against a medium-term target of ten) and external communications through events and other channels (six against a target of four). However, we fell short of our targets for papers published (zero against a target of ten), research projects registered in the database zero against a target of ten), and the number of specimens tested (approximately 200 against a target of 1,000). The number of research projects using the innovation hub equipment (included as an output) also remained at four against the target of ten by 2026.

Progress against these KPIs contributed to addressing the identified social issue —the lack of research and diagnostic infrastructure for widespread infectious diseases and other endemic illnesses in Africa — as follows. At the start of the project, Nairobi had no private facility capable of undertaking, at international standards, testing required for research on infectious diseases and cancer. Researchers therefore had no option other than to send specimens outside the country or abandon the research itself. During the Fund’s three-year co-creation period, a foundation for commissioned research in Nairobi was established through the operation of a laboratory equipped with gene sequencers, the local implementation of four research projects that had undergone ethics committee review, and a co-creation network comprising 26 partnerships. CA MEDLYNKS has accumulated procedures covering the process from review through implementation, and sharing these procedures with other researchers provides a path toward increasing the number of research projects implemented. The main reason the number of research projects did not reach the target was the loss of research funding previously available to universities and research organizations from Europe and the United States for work in Kenya, following the closure of USAID and the cuts to PEPFAR funding in 2025. However, after the project pipeline was reoriented toward Japanese universities and research organizations, project launches came to follow their budget cycles.

The greatest achievement through the Fund was the establishment in Nairobi of a private facility capable of undertaking research testing to international standards, enabling local researchers to conduct research without sending specimens outside the country. Outcomes not initially anticipated included the conclusion of a comprehensive four-way partnership agreement involving two companies and a university, as well as investment and technical collaboration from a major Japanese clinical testing company. Through this technical collaboration, CA MEDLYNKS expects to obtain Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) certification in December 2026, the first such certification for a private testing facility in Nairobi. Negotiations are underway for CA MEDLYNKS to serve as the testing site for a dengue vaccine clinical trial supported by an international research funding organization. The three-year period produced operational equipment, the prospect of certification, and a network of 26 partnerships. These are prerequisites for research. Whether research becomes a routine activity in Nairobi will be determined in the fiscal year ending March 2028, during which six research projects are expected to start. Although the Fund’s co-creation period has ended, we will continue applying the relationships and lessons gained from co-creators at Mitsui & Co. as we work toward the targeted social solution, serving as a hub that connects researchers addressing disease-related issues in Africa with research organizations and companies in Japan and around the world.

Co-creator’s Comments

During the three-year co-creation period, Kenya remained an extremely challenging business environment for healthcare providers, with worsening fiscal constraints leading to cuts in healthcare, public health, and education budgets, as well as reductions and suspensions of programs supported by international aid organizations. Even under these circumstances, CA MEDLYNKS continued to make steady progress by flexibly reviewing the strategy for its core medical testing laboratory business and shifting its focus toward collaboration with Japanese companies and academic institutions, both of which were relatively less affected. We wish to express our respect for the efforts of Mr. Shimada and all other stakeholders. This experience also reaffirmed that flexibility in adapting to environmental changes and strong resilience are essential when operating a business in a developing country.

The innovation hub developed through this project is more than a research facility. We believe it has great significance as a foundation that enables young researchers in Kenya and East Africa to undertake research and generate new knowledge. Many disease-related issues in Africa are not being sufficiently addressed within research and development frameworks designed for developed countries. To help resolve the targeted social issue, we hope that this hub will ultimately develop into “a research hub by Africa, for Africa,” led by local researchers and generating research and solutions that are truly needed in the region.

At the same time, the initiative reaffirmed the difficulty of solving social issues. Building healthcare and research infrastructure requires taking a long-term perspective, and continuous funding, human resources, and partnerships are needed before the initiative can become financially sustainable. Although efforts of this kind are particularly necessary when society is unstable, they face a structural challenge because they are highly vulnerable to changes in the external environment such as worsening fiscal conditions and reduced aid funding. Through this initiative, we again recognized that, when solving social issues it takes a long time to produce results, and that achieving both social impact and business viability is difficult but vital.