what is jica

JICA stands for Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is an implementing agency of Japanese official development aid (ODA) for the purpose of supporting the socioeconomic development, recovery, or economic stability of developing regions. JICA was established in 1974 as a semi-governmental organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the new JICA was formed on October 1, 2003. Since its completion on October 1, 2008, the new JICA has become one of the largest bilateral development organizations in the world with a network of 97 overseas offices, projects in more than 150 countries, and available financial resources of approximately 1 trillion yen ($8.5 billion) . JICAs assistance focuses on capacity development, which includes systems building, organization strengthening, and human resource development. JICA has three main development aid tools, including technical assistance, concessionary loans (Japanese ODA loans), and grant aid. JICA also strives to uphold the efficiency and quality of its projects by maintaining close links with NGOs, universities, research institutes, private sector, and other bilateral and multilateral aid organizations.