– Online consultation with 15 Korean IT solution startups and 10 Japanese companies participating –
– Participating Japanese companies show high interest in IT solutions of Korean startups –
Startup Conference Overview
According to INITIAL JAPAN (formerly Japan Venture Research), a leading Japanese startup information magazine, the amount of financing for Japanese startups in the first half of 2021 was 3245 billion yen, which was similar to the annual procurement amount in 2017 in the first half alone. Meanwhile, the number of startups that received funding in the first half of this year was 1014, and it is predicted that the trend of concentration of investment will continue this year.
Start-up financing trends in Japan (2012 to the first half of 2021)
(Unit: XNUMX million yen, company)
In particular, areas such as IoT, AI, corporate solutions, healthcare, and the environment are areas of high investor interest. As a result of a survey conducted by the Nikkei Shimbun on 61 major CVC companies in Japan, the main areas of interest of Japanese companies were AI, IoT, corporate solutions, and the environment in that order.
Areas that Japanese CVCs are considering investing in (multiple responses)
Major investment examples of startups by Japanese companies
(Electric and Electronics) Invest in startups such as semiconductors, IT, and metals through Panasonic and VC subsidiaries
(Real estate) Mitsubishi Jisho, a total 100 billion yen CVC investment
(Information and Communication) NTT Group, actively investing in venture companies in ICT, platform, and application fields
(Aviation) JAL establishes an 80 billion yen startup support platform, focuses on the aerospace/fintech sector
(Railway) JR East establishes a startup support subsidiary, collaborates with promising venture companies and provides funding
Source: KOTRA Fukuoka Trade Center
Accordingly, the KOTRA Fukuoka Trade Center recruited 9 Korean startups with IT solutions in each field and 13 VCs and CVCs in the Kyushu region from September 25th to October 15th to hold a consultation meeting for cooperation in discovering new businesses between the two countries. did The startup consultation was held in the form of an online consultation through ZOOM, and 10 video consultations were conducted on IT solutions such as healthcare, nursing care, mobility, and IoT, which are in high demand from Japanese companies.
2021 Start-up Support Business Overview
Main Content
The event largely consisted of ① Startup Japan Entry Webinar (9.17.) and ② Startup Pitching/Business Consultation (9.13.~10.25.). In the start-up entry into Japan webinar, Korean startup company A, which succeeded in advancing into Japan with the support of the KOTRA Fukuoka Trade Center, presented the company introduction, current status of entry into Japan, and experience of pioneering the Japanese market to the participating companies, exchanging questions, and experiencing advancement was shared. Then, with the help of the Japanese Regal Nabi Administrative Scrivener Office, we had a time to introduce legal and administrative matters to consider when a startup enters Japan, as well as differences depending on the type of entry.
Cases of advancing into Japan through KOTRA support and photos of local corporation establishment webinar
From September 9th to October 13th, 25 Korean companies participating in the conference explained their solutions in detail to Japanese companies and conducted 15:1 consultations on exports and investment attraction. Japanese companies showed great interest in the IT solutions of Korean startups with differentiated features and competitiveness, and received impressions of participating that they expected to create synergy effects by introducing their own companies or suggesting them to existing customers.
Pitching and consultation between domestic company company C and buyer company C
implication
(Business opportunity with Japan, which is slow to convert IT) Japan is paying attention to Korea's 'news that shows Korea's image as an IT powerhouse'. As an example, Japan's Nikkei Shimbun reported that in September of this year, 9% of the total recipients of the national subsidy were paid in two weeks in Korea, and said, “Compared to Japan's 'Special Cash Benefit' last spring, it is about 2 times speed” and reported with interest how the Korean government and companies are widely using IT technology.
The reason is that 'IT transition' has been a hot topic in Japanese society since the mid-2010s. 'Aging and population decline', a long-standing problem in Japanese society, 'Society 2016', which has been a social topic since 5.0, 'Working style reform' to increase worker productivity, 'DX conversion', which is attracting attention before and after Corona, and recently '2050' If we look at policies such as 'realization of carbon neutrality' and 'realization of ESG/SDGs', high IT technology is always required at the center of the plan to realize each policy. Japanese companies are also active in innovation creation through business alliances with domestic and foreign IT startups to discover and grow new businesses in line with the needs of society and national policies. A Korean company that has a solution that can meet these social needs is judged to have an advantage in advancing into Japan.
(Fukuoka City Facilitates Entry into Japan) Fukuoka City has been providing various institutional support for start-ups since it was designated as a national strategic special zone (global start-up, job creation special zone) by the Japanese government in 2014. For this reason, foreigners can easily obtain a visa through Fukuoka City if they have a business idea. In particular, from June 2020, some conditions such as 'open office rental' among business management visa renewal requirements have been eased, making it easier to prepare an initial base for advancing into Japan compared to other regions.
Details of loosening regulations on business management visa renewal for foreign entrepreneurs
In Japan, which places importance on face-to-face networks, in order for Korean startups to actually provide solutions and services in Japan, it would be advantageous to establish a foothold in Japan or to find a partner in Japan and advance through that partner. It is believed that Korean companies considering entering into Japan will be able to strategically consider advancing into Japan through the KOTRA Fukuoka Trade Center.
Source: Fukuoka City, Nikkei Shimbun, INITIAL JAPAN, KOTRA Fukuoka Trade Center