Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pledge Saturday to invest $30 billion to boost African growth and infrastructure over the next three years comes as he seeks to win over national leaders already being wooed by China and the U.S.

Japan's planned investment in the continent of 1.2 billion people shows it has "faith in Africa's future," Abe told the heads of states gathered in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, for the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

Thirty-four heads from across the 54-nation continent, including those from South Africa, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire and Uganda attended the high-level gathering, which was held outside Japan for the first time. TICAD ran through Sunday.