"Japan as Your Business Partner - Opportunities for Fund Raising and Market Entry" held in Gurugram and Mumbai, India

In January, JETRO convened an event titled "Japan as Your Business Partner - Opportunities for Fund Raising and Market Entry" in Gurugram (on January 21) and Mumbai (on January 22), India. In recent years, numerous startups have accumulated in Gurugram, which neighbors the capital New Delhi, while Mumbai has been demonstrating its strength as an ecosystem in the fields of finance and retail as one of Asia's leading finance centers. Targeting local venture capital firms and Indian companies with innovative technologies in both cities, a call was made on this occasion for them to work with Japanese companies and invest in Japan through publicizing the attractiveness of the Japanese market and business opportunities.

In Gurugram, opening remarks were delivered by Yasuyuki Murahashi, Chief Director General of JETRO New Delhi, Ms. Grover, Co Head of Startup India at Invest India and Mr. Sabharwal, Senior Directorl of Global Trade Development at NASSCOM. In Mumbai, they were done by Munenori Matsunaga, Director General of JETRO Mumbai and Mr. Mithun, CEO of Maharashtra State Innovation Society. Speakers emphasized the importance of cooperation between India and Japan to facilitate collaboration and investment between companies of the two countries.

In his keynote speech, Kazuya Nakajo, Executive Vice President of JETRO talked about the benefits of collaboration with Japan, where the momentum of innovation has been rising, and made an appeal to use its finance supplying ecosystems. In addition, touching on the establishment of a special framework within JETRO for promoting digital transformation (DX), he stated that JETRO will further strengthen collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies.

Following that, presentations were delivered by Japanese experts in venture capital (VC) investment and companies with a strong desire to invest in foreign companies, including those of India. Mr. Nakano, Chairman of the Japan Venture Capital Association explained that the amount of Japan’s VC investment and the number of IPOs have been on the increase. Following him, Mr. Sugiyama, General Manager and Chief Representative at the Singapore Branch of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) presented on the allures of entry in the Japanese market, comparing it with other markets in Asia.

Mr. Bhasin, General Partner of Rebright Partners; which has abundant experience in investing into foreign companies, including those of India; introduced his firm’s accomplishments in supporting Indian and Japanese companies. Mr. Kuwahara, Deputy General Manager at the Bengaluru Office of Sojitz India spoke of his company's business experience in India, and expressed his strong desire to enhance collaboration with Indian startups by taking advantage of his company’s global network. Following him, presentations were delivered by two Indian startups with a presence in Japan: Vymo, which is developing a business management AI app with the aim of improving work efficiency and profitability, and Uncanny Vision, which is developing AI-equipped cameras and an image dissector system. They mentioned the importance of understanding Japanese corporate culture when doing business and stressed the attractiveness of the Japanese business environment as an investment destination.

Presenting that Yokohama is chosen as a research and development site by domestic and overseas companies which are active across the globe, Mr. Matsushima, Director of Yokohama City-Mumbai Representative Office promoted the fact that his city provides a comfortable living environment with consideration for accommodating foreign people in terms of medical care as well as education.