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Article at Japan Trade Press Group

Under the support of the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), JETRO started the Startup City Acceleration Program (SCAP) in mid-September to help domestic Japanese startups expand their business overseas.

Initially targeting startups active in eight startup ecosystem hub cities¹ across the country, SCAP has now expanded its coverage nationwide and selected 126 startups to participate in all five courses of the program.

 

In this program, world-class accelerators affiliated with JETRO will provide specialized courses by leveraging their strengths and providing individualized support for Japanese startups to expand business overseas while closely working with them. It will end in March 2023 and participation is free of charge.

 

This fiscal year -the third year for the program- a portion will be conducted in a hybrid format combining in-person and online sessions. It will include face-to-face mentoring, tours of local ecosystems, and interviews with potential business partners at the accelerators' U.S. bases. This will allow the startups to obtain more realistic networking experience and build contacts with international investors and business partners.

 

■Outline of “SCAP”

In all five courses, participant companies will aim at overseas market expansion and network building by receiving support for business plan development and promotion activities, as well as having Demo Days geared toward international investors and visiting local ecosystems.

Format	Hybrid events
Contents （Varies by course）	・Lectures Sessions and workshops - covering topics like mindset, communication, strategy planning, talent acquisition, fundraising, finance and marketing ・One-to-one mentoring ・Networking ・Demo Days for investors and overseas companies ・Onsite tours of local ecosystems (Approx. 10 days. Participants bear travel and accommodation expenses.)
Eligible companies （With selection process for each course）	All domestic Startups in Japan

■Attachment 1: Details of courses and accelerators ＜PDF＞ (566KB) 

■Attachment 2: List of participant companies (total 126) ＜PDF＞ (647KB) 

 

¹Startup ecosystem hub cities

Jointly selected by the Cabinet Office and METI in 2020 with the aim of helping to form and develop world-class startup ecosystem hubs in Japan. Composed of “Global Startup Cities” (Tokyo area, Central Japan, Kansai region and Fukuoka) and “Startup Cities” (Sapporo and Hokkaido, Sendai, Hiroshima and Kitakyushu).

（https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/stmain/20200714.html）