Building Networks and Partnerships with International University of Japan(IUJ) February 22, 2020(Saturday)
On the 16th of February, 2020, FD Corporation’s Team which included the president (Mr. Masashi Suzuki) , the General Manager (Mr. Jitsuyama Hideaki), and the Sales Engineer (Mr. Diouf Mamadou Lamine) visited the International University of Japan (IUJ) located in Niigata Prefecture. The aim of this visit was to introduce Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Business and appeal to the International Management Council (IM Council) for business proposals from Africa & Asian MBA Students.
The MBA Students in attendance constituted of 1 Myanmar, 1 Nepalese, and 16 African ABE initiative participants. The meeting was facilitated by Mrs. Gretchen Shinoda, the Director of Student Services and Alumni Relations. She has dedicated her efforts in mainly attracting International Student Leaders to create rapport with Japanese Companies and opportunities for business development. Intriguing enough, it happens that she is a long-time friend of Mr. Jitsuyama. The two were actually classmates at IUJ in 1987 to 89. Recently, in the last 6 months, they have been in contact to ensure the success of this meeting.
The event involved students’ self-introductions, which was followed by FDC’s presentation on the company’s mission, accomplishment in Japan; its target market and business activities in Africa thus far. Mr. Diouf further went on to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using Solar PV System and how it can be beneficial for African Consumers to tap into especially that the continent receives 4300hrs of sunlight a year. This incited a lot of curiosity and despite the students having little knowledge about PV System, many issues were raised and addressed during the events Question & Answer session. The MBA students were able to describe the energy situation/crisis that their various countries are facing. They also emphasized the need to focus on rural areas and highlighted the use of Battery systems if FD Corporation is to reach a bigger target market. According to them, they strongly believe that solar business will help overcome the challenges and difficulties of access to sustainable electricity and power generation.
Moving forward on this regard, FD Corporation (FDC) will award maximum 5 students including ABE Initiative participants with a 6 months internship after graduation based on their outstanding and realistic business models and proposals. FD is keen on expanding its business to Africa and this collaboration will help strengthen its reach in the right direction. Overall, the event was insightful and FDC hope that its expectations are met by the IUJ MBA students.