LIFE & CULTURE

GENERATING NEW
VALUEINAFRICAA CAPTIVATING LANDJAPANUGANDA
A Japanese woman goes into business in Uganda, managing
a Japanese restaurant and supporting organic agriculture. Her goal
is to generate new value through business and contribute to African
development. Her source of energy? The positive attitude of Africans who see hope for the future.

Tank Hill Park made use oflocal timber to create anopen space. In 2020, thebuilding was awarded theGood Design Gold Award(Minister of Economy, Tradeand Industry Award) by theJapan Institute of Design
Promotion as an outstandingexample of Japanese design.
TIMOTHY LATIM“I was captivated by Africa,” says MIYASHITA
Fumiko. She is talking to us in a pleasant, open spacewithin a Ugandan café that is part of a Japaneserestaurant called Yamasen, managed by Miyashita
herself. In addition to managing the restaurant, she
is also a co-director of Cots Cots Ltd., a company
that deals with agricultural products and operates
a commercial facility in Kampala, the capital ofUganda.
Miyashita’s fascination with Africa began in hercollege years. As a cultural anthropology major, shewas intensely drawn to African culture, which wasso different from her own. She had hoped to becomea scholar to probe the depths of the land that had
captivated her. In 2011, however, just as she wasabout to begin her graduate studies, the Great East
Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, changing
her outlook. Driven by a need to connect withsociety, she joined a venture company that supports
sustainable farming. She worked for the company

while continuing her studies, and started travelingto and from Uganda as part of the firm’s efforts
to expand its business to developing countries. In2014, she relocated to that country as the company’s
overseas representative.
She met several fellow Japanese people livingin Kampala, and they discussed the possibility oflaunching a Japanese-style restaurant there. Aroundthat time, her partner—who managed a restaurant asa chef in Kyoto—decided that he, too, would relocate
to Uganda. In 2017, Miyashita teamed up with others
and co-founded Cots Cots Ltd.
The name of the company—Cots Cots—stems
from the Japanese term kotsu-kotsu, which means “towork diligently, step by step.” Miyashita took over thebusiness of the company she formerly worked for—namely supporting organic farmers and distributing
and exporting their products—and is making steadyefforts to develop it in a way that will engender morevalue. The expression kotsu-kotsu doesn’t necessarilymean that she doesn’t take risks though. She thoughtthat scale would be an important factor if she hoped topopularize Japanese cuisine and enable the company
to succeed as a business. The company procured
the necessary funds and, in 2018, established acommercial facility named Tank Hill Park. A focuson good design resulted in an eye-catching piece ofarchitecture that truly stands out. In the center ofthe facility is Yamasen, a restaurant specializing inJapanese cuisine. Forty of its staff are local employees.
Running the business has not been easy. WhenYamasen is the firstJapanese restaurant tohave a Japanese chef in
Kampala, the capital ofUganda. Initially, guests
were mainly foreigners,
but now locals also visit
and enjoy its food.
TIMOTHY LATIM

Uganda closed its borders in March 2020 to preventthe spread of COVID-19, 80% of foreign residents—
core restaurant clients—left the country. An
unexpected but happy development, however, wasthat local residents began to visit the facility moreregularly than previously, possibly because they wereno longer shy about frequenting a place that mainlycatered to foreigners. The restaurant has been revising
its price list and menu to fit better the needs and tastes
of locals, who are more conservative about what theyeat. “One popular item is cassava, simmered in dashi(broth) and then fried, similar to the way Japanesepotatoes are prepared in Kyoto. Foreigners are also
coming back, and the restaurant is now a place for all
kinds of people to come together.”Miyashita admits that there were troubles along
the way, but laughs and says she has forgotten themall. “Ugandans are such a positive people. I’ve beensaved many times by the way they can let go of pastissues. The population is growing and the country
has momentum, with people thinking that tomorrow
will be better than today and that the future will beeven better still. This positivity is the engine thatLocal cassava,simmered indashi and fried, isa popular item on
Yamasen’s menu.

propels me forward.”
Cots Cots is also busy developing new businesspossibilities. The company collaborates with Miyagi
Prefecture’s Fisherman Japan, an association of young
fishermen, to demonstrate the possibility of creating
a value chain with pre-processed, high-value-added
marine products from neighboring Tanzania. It is also
working with Japanese trading firms that want to build
responsible ties with local producers and help them toprocure and distribute sustainably grown cotton.
Captivated by Africa, Miyashita is generating value,
step by step, thereby contributing to the continent’s
development. That is her mission, and she follows herpath with light but determined steps.

MIYASHITA FUMIKO

Cots Cots Ltd. is committed
to organic farming, using its
products at Yamasen andexporting chili peppers andshea butter to Japan.
ATSUSHI SHIBUYAMIYASHITA Fumiko joined SakaNo Tochu Co., Ltd., a venturecompany that advocatesenvironmentally friendly farming,
while a student at the Kyoto
University Graduate School. In 2012,
she began to deal with agricultural
production and distribution in Uganda
and relocated there as the firm’s
overseas representative in 2014. In
2017, she co-founded Cots Cots Ltd.