The Singaporean business landscape proves to be continuously thriving due to the number of tech companies and startups in the country encouraged by pro-business policies. But due to the relatively small population that equals limited market size (despite the high spending power of Singaporeans), there is a need to diversify business options for growth and profit. Tapping into a bigger arena would contribute to improving this potential, meaning Singaporean businesses should start considering expanding into the international market.
Japan is a possible market these businesses can look into, as the country’s consumer market is among the largest in the world. According to the International Trade Administration, Japan is the third-largest economy in the world next to the US and China, making it an exciting place for business.
Specific contexts in the country also make Japan a lucrative hub for developing certain technologies like pharmaceuticals and robotics. At the same time, the Japanese market is diverse in terms of industries. In 2018, Japan covered a broad range of local startups with a market worth of USD3.7 billion.
Expanding ambitions from Singapore to Japan
The Singapore Economic Development Board and Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) is one programme that offers an opportunity for the most innovative and ambitious Singaporean startups to expand to markets like Japan. As an established network of Singaporean and overseas partners specialising in crucial demand markets, GIA opens opportunities for startups to exchange knowledge, technology, and skills to create an international community of innovation.
For its Japan network, GIA’s partner is Leave a Nest, an innovator among deep tech platforms in the Southeast Asian region. Leave a Nest, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, screens and guides successful applicants in the process of expanding and establishing their startup in Japan, particularly in Tokyo.
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GIA will walk participants through a visit to the host country, exposing them to potential partner companies, the investor, as well as the research institute during the third month of the programme. This gives startups ample time to make up their minds and strategise on how to gain a foothold in the market.
The programme’s graduates have become notable across most fields. For example, Wavescan, which was among the first startups to participate in GIA, had been mentioned by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat for its success in the Japanese market. Another programme alumni, Sentient.io, has managed to gain a foothold in the Asia Pacific market through investments from Real Tech and SEEDS capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore. The two startups present just a few of the possibilities for potential participants upon coming out of the programme.
→For application to the “Enter to Japan Market” programme, please apply HERE
Singapore as Japan’s entry into Southeast Asian markets
Another ingenious component of GIA is its reciprocity of opportunities. For instance, it’s not just Singaporean startups that are encouraged to expand to Japan; Japanese startups are also very welcome to explore business opportunities in Singapore. Japanese startups will find that Singapore has a strategic location to be an entry point and PoC to the ASEAN market.
For reasons already mentioned, this would be beneficial for both inbound and outbound companies given Singapore and Japan’s track records and consumer trends, once again contributing to building a global innovation network. Aside from their economic similarities, however, both Japan and Singapore face similar kinds of issues, particularly in terms of their ageing society, making the sharing of technologies between Japan and Singapore a welcome exchange.
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For the “Enter SG Market‘‘ programme, Leave a Nest will recruit high-calibre early- to mid-stage startups in the field of deep tech and applied tech to seek business opportunities in Singapore. This process leverages the EntrePass Scheme to penetrate other Southeast Asian countries using Singapore as a base.
→For application to the “Enter to SG Market” programme, please apply HERE
A customised process for startups
The conduct of the GIA programme is interesting in that it’s customised for all participating startups. Through a series of training over the course of four months, startups who pass the screening are mentored to understand their needs. The businesses are then pitched in one-on-one sessions with Singapore partners to see what works best for them.
The same process is replicated for Singaporean startups looking to enter the Japanese market, with a focus on finding manufacturing partners in Japan for these companies. A small cohort of participants are selected from the pool of applicants and the process is highly customised to cater to their needs, noting where they currently are and what aspect of the market they can best connect to. The result is evident in the success rate of the GIA programme. Apart from Wavescan and Sentient.io’s successes, other programme alumni have found their niche in their respective target markets. Crown Digital and Profile Print, both dealing with artificial intelligence, are among the startups that have found investors for their business.
Prototype manufacturing partnerships for startups
In the past, Leave a Nest ran a successful project specifically geared for ASEAN startups looking for state-of-the-art manufacturing partners in Japan. Dubbed as the Prototype Manufacturing Project (otherwise known as the Ota City Program), the project helped match startups with corresponding partner manufacturers in Ota City, which is home to several specialised factories that take care of the prototyping needs of different companies.
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With its reputable track record of building partnerships and connecting ecosystem players, Leave a Nest is partnering with Enterprise Singapore to once again offer the Prototype Manufacturing Project. Startups’ need for precise manufacturing can be challenging to find in Southeast Asia. Even in Japan, where GIA participants’ target market would be, one major challenge to establishing a partnership with a manufacturer would be the language and knowledge barrier. It would be best to work within an existing network like the Prototype Manufacturing Project and GIA to ensure an ideal outcome for startups and manufacturers alike.
To get an idea of how well the Ota City Program has worked for GIA startups, one needs to look no further. In 2018, three startups from Southeast Asia successfully entered the Ota City Program’s pilot run, paired with major Japanese firms to move to the next stage of their entry into the Japanese market. For 2022, another call for applicants has been released, especially for companies who are keen to work with Japanese manufacturers for their startups.
→For application to the “Manufacturing Program,” please apply HERE.
→For application to the “Enter to Japan Market” programme, please apply HERE
→For application to the “Enter to SG Market” programme, please apply HERE
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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Leave a Nest
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