Tokyo – January 31, 2025 – TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (TYO: 7911) (TOPPAN Holdings) has acquired 100% of the shares of JONGOROGOSEI Ltd (JONGOROGOSEI), a Rwanda-based provider of digital business process outsourcing (BPO) services primarily to Japanese companies.

With this acquisition, the TOPPAN Group will drive the expansion of JONGOROGOSEI’s digital BPO offshoring business in Africa while leveraging JONGOROGOSEI’s knowledge and expertise to accelerate growth of digital transformation (DX) and sustainable transformation (SX) businesses in Africa.

Background

The TOPPAN Group is driving DX and SX business creation in the growing African market. In 2023, the TOPPAN Group entered into a capital and business alliance¹ with OS Trading & Investments Pte. Ltd. (OSTI), which operates a Smart Village Project focused on the farm business in Rwanda and Tanzania. TOPPAN Digital and OSTI are also collaborating with Sagri Co., Ltd., an impact startup spun out from Gifu University that aims to deliver solutions for agriculture and the environment. The three companies are conducting field trials² focused on smart agriculture in East Africa, and TOPPAN Group staff stationed in Rwanda since 2024 are promoting creation of new businesses strongly rooted in the local region.

Located in central Africa, Rwanda uses English as one of its official languages and is advancing the development of its digital infrastructure. Through the Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project, the national government is supporting growth in the ICT field and enabling young people to acquire new skills to take into the job market. Japan, meanwhile, is supporting Rwanda’s sustainable growth as a lead donor in the areas of water, sanitation, and ICT.

Rwanda-based JONGOROGOSEI operates an IT offshoring business, providing image processing, AI annotation, and web content production services to Japanese companies. The company provides employment opportunities to local young people and enables employees to enhance their skill levels through work catering to Japanese clients.

Overview of Target Company (at the time of acquisition)

Expected Synergies

・Expansion of digital BPO offshoring business
The offshoring of functions to China and other Asian countries has increased in recent years, but factors such as economic growth and yen depreciation are driving up personnel costs. African countries are now compelling locations for expansion of offshoring, and countries like Rwanda are particularly promising due to their focus on driving progress in the area of ICT.

JONGOROGOSEI has amassed technical skills and diverse knowledge through its digital BPO offshoring business serving Japanese companies. As part of the TOPPAN Group, JONGOROGOSEI will be able to strengthen its capabilities through technical assistance as well as enhancing the sophistication of its operations by applying technical expertise accrued in the TOPPAN Group’s focus DX business of hybrid BPO.

TOPPAN Group companies will also be able to use JONGOROGOSEI as a base for offshoring and expand JONGOROGOSEI’s digital BPO business by referring customers to the company.

The Future

The TOPPAN Group aims to grow JONGOROGOSEI’s digital BPO offshoring business at the same time as leveraging the company’s insight and know-how to accelerate expansion of DX and SX businesses in Africa. The TOPPAN Group also hopes to expand employment opportunities in Rwanda and contribute to human resource development that supports sustainable growth in the country by providing training programs for ICT skills and digital technologies.

About the TOPPAN Group

Established in Tokyo in 1900, the TOPPAN Group is a leading and diversified global provider committed to delivering sustainable, integrated solutions in fields including printing, communications, security, packaging, décor materials, electronics, and digital transformation. The TOPPAN Group’s global team of more than 50,000 employees offers optimal solutions enabled by industry-leading expertise and technologies to address the diverse challenges of every business sector and society and contribute to the achievement of shared sustainability goals.
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