A multi-talented tech/social Ivorian entrepreneur in Japan.

Hello! My name is Elder Akpa. I am from Ivory Coast and my native language is French. I first came to Japan in 2013 when I entered Kyoto University with a full scholarship to study Japanese and Computer sciences. Then I attended Nara Institute of Science and Technology for my Master's and Ph.D. in Information Science, specifically Ubiquitous Computing Systems, IoT, and Data Analysis.

I joined Schneider Electric Japan’s R&D division in April 2019 as an  Innovation Projects Leader. Apart from work, I am active on various platforms to help other Africans to access quality education. My civic engagement for African youth is “to maximize the chances for all young Africans to have access to quality training through international scholarships and educational opportunities.” I have helped around a hundred young African students to obtain scholarships around the world!

Why did you choose to attend university in Japan?

I chose Japan mainly because the country is driven by technology and innovation. I always had a passion for technology, computer science, and robotics. I have always been interested in Asia, while others in my country tend to choose Europe or the U.S. to study. I was also familiar with Japanese manga and games since I was little. Therefore, I was very grateful that the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology accepted me with a full scholarship.

I devoted myself to various innovation and computer science projects, which I loved and am very proud of! I studied under Professor Yasumoto’s Ubiquitous Computing Systems Laboratory, which focused on innovations for smart homes, smart life, and smart cities.  My focus was on smart life, where I was able to develop several technologies such as an app that measures calories from a photo of a meal and smart gloves with built-in sensors that allows you to count laps and monitor the athlete during workout sessions.

Outside of my studies, I was actively pursuing many activities while being a student. I have been actively posting on social media since 2017. I coach young students, mainly from Africa, on how to get scholarships and study abroad without illegal immigration. I started my YouTube channel “Elder au Japon” in 2017, which reached about 26k subscribers by February 2023! My Facebook with the same name also recently gained 75k followers! My passion to help students successfully earn scholarships and study abroad continues; my social innovation pitch has won the best social entrepreneur in Ivory Coast!

On social media platforms, I also talk about niche Japanese culture that I think many Japanese people do not know, such as having good manners with senpais by lowering your glass a little lower than theirs. I enjoy learning and sharing new cultural insights like this! 

When I was a student, I also developed a bus schedule app for my school in Nara, as all the information was on paper and inconvenient. To sum up, whenever there is a problem, I have always tried to come up with a solution to innovate people’s life!

What was your job-hunting process like?

I had 2 phases of job-hunting. In my first phase, which was before I finished my Ph.D., I did not land a job at Schneider on my first try. But my profile was in their database, so they contacted me again for a full-time job when the position was open in 2018. However, I was busy with my studies, so I negotiated with them and initially joined Schneider as a part-time employee for the R&D development of the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) division. After 6 to 9 months, I officially joined the company as a manager for innovation projects.

What were the difficulties that you encountered during job-hunting?

Japanese language skills. I was actually rejected by 5 to 6 companies because they required more than N2, which I could not pass. I thought that my N3 Japanese language skills would be enough to be an asset to companies, but there was a demand for more. I believe language certification should not be an indication of your language ability. For example, many Japanese people that do not have TOEIC scores can communicate well enough in English to contribute to a company’s business!

What efforts did you make to be a strong candidate?

I always try to be different by standing out from others, and I believe that was the key to my success. For example, I became creative with my resume.  I highlighted many of my accomplishments by adding a table of achievements, specifically on the practical end. For example, I wrote about the app that I invented called Bourses Pour Tous, which means “scholarship for all” in French.  Anyone can access it on the Google Play store. Also, my resume consisted of two documents: one for school and one for YouTube and other applications and innovations I made. This format is different from the classical Japanese resume style. It is important to add that plus alpha!

I believe it is important for you to be able to absorb new information in a short time. The work you are going to do at Schneider Electric might be complex if you are not a fast learner. People who can learn fast can be a good match for the company.

At Schneider, we have a "fail fast" culture. This means that employees are welcome to fail. But fail fast and move on to the next step as quickly as possible. I try to embody this culture every day at work by bringing new ideas to the table, and if they are rejected, I move on to the next.

My job is all about innovation—creating new things.  First, our department will get the feedback and problems of our product HMI. My job is to understand the users' needs to make HMI more innovative, newer and futuristic. It is always important to think about the customers' needs and satisfy them. For example, for HMI software, we will work to make the process faster, but balance the price so that it is not too expensive for customers. An example of hardware is the high-quality plasma TV, which is very thin. Because people are used to it, customers also want the HMI to be thin but with a larger screen. However, the HMI and the TV have a huge temperature difference that cannot be stored together in one component, so I have to innovate to propose a solution. Therefore, my job is to find a good way to respect the customer's voice and consider the environmental conditions. Through my role, I have learned research skills and how to work with other departments to create the products that customers love the most and make the most profit.

This year, my goal is to connect with more research institutes and university laboratories. I hope to understand what kind of projects they are doing and incorporate them into my projects at Schneider.

Why did you choose Schneider?

I chose Schneider because I value trust. They trusted my ability and gave me the chance after getting rejected continuously. Also, it was important to me that Schneider was an international company; I knew about Schneider before coming to Japan. There is a diverse culture in Schneider with employees from many nationalities, so I did not experience any difficulties regarding cultural differences. It is also a France-based company so I could use my mother tongue—French—as an advantage by working at the headquarter in France, or being a representative to communicate when the executives visit Japan.

Lastly, it would be the work-life balance. This is my favorite part of working at Schneider! Work time is very flexible. For example, I was back in Ivory Coast for 2 full months to participate in an entrepreneur competition(which I won in the social entrepreneurship category!). My boss kindly allowed me to work remotely. Ivory Coast and Japan have a 9-hour time difference, so I woke up at 4 A.M. every morning and participated in online meetings around 5 A.M., which is around 2 P.M. in Japan.

What are the difficulties and challenges you face in the workforce?

The biggest challenge for me was understanding the company’s business, specifically HMI. Although I am skilled in many things from innovation to social media, now I needed to work for a multinational company and make a profit for them.  I first tried to understand this by breaking down the organizational structures of each division, as well as learning the company's history. Furthermore, I made effort to understand the expectation and the impact that my division specifically makes. 

What is your future vision?

I hope to continue to develop various projects at Schneider. During my working hours from 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., I belong to Schneider and I will dedicate my time there. However, I do not want to be an ordinary employee. I am a father, an entrepreneur, and a born innovator. So after 6 P.M., I will take off my suits and turn into a different version of myself. I have always enjoyed doing many things and I always will! I will continue to work on many projects that I am passionate about!