Osaka to hold hybrid event alongside Dubai Expo, for International Startups’ to Explore Collaboration with Corporations in Japan, in lead-up to Osaka World Expo 2025

November 30 01:48 2021

Nov 29th, 2021 – Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC), a joint initiative by the Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka City Government, & Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with the Osaka Startup Ecosystem Consortium, a strong collaboration among Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, economic organizations and Osaka Business Development Agency, The Foundation for International Trade & Industrial Co-operation (ITIC), & Global DX, an innovation consultancy bridging Japanese cities and companies with the world’s most cutting-edge startups, have announced a joint initiative. Together, they will hold an event in Dubai on Dec 13th 2021 alongside the current World Expo, to promote Osaka’s strengths & collaboration opportunities for startups to a global audience, to increase international awareness, FDI, & cross-border collaboration in Osaka ahead of the 2025 Expo.

“Dubai is home to many healthtech, fintech, and IT startups, yet this is the first time for OCCI and O-BIC to hold a business exchange event with Dubai startups. We hope that this event will encourage as many startups as possible to take an interest in Osaka/Kansai and to collaborate with companies, universities, and research institutes”, said Ozaki-san, Chairperson of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Chairman of O-BIC.

Due to the ongoing global pandemic restricting travel for many to the Dubai World Expo, the free event, which will be held on Monday, Dec 13th, 6am~ UTC, will be hybrid. Physical attendees will gather in Dubai at Dtec, the largest technology innovation hub in the MENA region, & a larger online audience will participate from around the globe via Zoom. The 90-minute event will be simultaneously interpreted in both English & Japanese languages.

The event will also include a presentation by Tala Al Ansari, Director, Innovation Ecosystem & Scale2Dubai, District 2020, about the human-centric future city that will evolve from Expo 2020, which has a mission to curate a global innovation ecosystem – District 2020. Tala will outline District 2020’s dedicated global entrepreneurship programme – Scale2Dubai – that has been established to provide start-ups and small businesses the opportunity to gain a soft landing in Dubai, and offers them a launchpad from which to scale and expand into regional and global markets. The programme is currently accepting applications until December 2021. Following a short-list and evaluation process, successful applicants will be announced at the end of Expo 2020, and the first cohort of 80-100 businesses are expected to be moving in from October 2022.

“District 2020 will evolve from Expo 2020 Dubai as a human-centric city designed to meet the needs of its urban community of professionals, residents and visitors. It has a mission to curate a global innovation ecosystem that brings together diverse businesses from around the world to continue the Expo’s goal of fostering collaboration and accelerating progress in future sectors and technologies.  Our ecosystem will provide an enabling environment that will support businesses of all sizes to collaborate and thrive in Dubai. A key part of this is to support start-ups and entrepreneurs who are key contributors to any innovation ecosystem. We are very excited to be able to share our vision and plans with Osaka, and look forward to building bridges with O-BIC & the wider business community in Japan”, said Tala Al Ansari.

Dtec, an initiative of Dubai Silicon Oasis, is a comprehensive startup ecosystem designed to conveniently set up a new business in Dubai. Spreading across 10,000 sqm of creatively designed spaces, it offers a nurturing, supporting community for technology startups and entrepreneurs. Dtec is home to more than 1,000 startups from 75 countries.

Hans Christensen, Vice President of Dtec, said: “Expo 2020 Dubai is being held during exceptional times, an experience that offers significant learnings and insights. The economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have also highlighted key matters for countries and nations, especially the role of startups in economic recovery. Dtec is keen on partnering with international peers to exchange knowledge and expertise, ultimately benefiting startups and entrepreneurs. We are delighted to welcome the Osaka delegation, widening our international partner base and gathering additional support for entrepreneurs looking to expand their business to new markets, especially Japan.”

As part of the event, Global DX & O-BIC will provide all attendee scaleups (both physical & online) with free Japan market entry advice, & interpreted introductions to local Osaka corporations who express interest in collaborating with them.

“Japan remains the world’s 3rd largest economy & is rapidly embracing open innovation, which is creating huge opportunities for international companies in specific niches like HealthTech, CleanTech, FinTech, Smart Cities, & Advanced Manufacturing. But due to a lack of awareness & support, many international scaleups still do not recognize the huge potential, or are unable to effectively engage with the market. We are really excited to be working with Osaka’s major corporate networks, to help scaleups understand the market, access opportunities, facilitate successful partnerships with Japanese corporations, & access critical services to support their subsequent market entry”, said Adam Claydon-Platt, Director & COO of Global DX.

The event will also include pitches from leading international FinTech, Smart Cities, & HealthTech scaleups interested in scaling into Japan.

“Since COVID hit, suddenly thanks to tools like Zoom, & online databases for global technology scouting, global corporate/startup collaboration has become much more accessible. So there’s been a huge increase of online programs lately introducing cutting edge technology from abroad into Japan. But most are only focused on matching, and there still aren’t many actual commercial outcomes. So Global DX was established to serve 2 needs in the post-COVID market: to help large corporations increase their ROI on current open innovation activities with startups (ie. more partnerships/investments/acquisitions), & to help mid-sized corporations to participate in global open innovation too. We believe there is huge potential in this mid- sector, which accounts for 40% of GDP, to revive the Japanese economy”, said Akihiro Hikita, Director & CEO of Global DX.

Scaleups, SMEs, & Startup supporters from anywhere in the world can register to attend the free event via Eventbrite in English, & Japanese corporations & participants via Peatix in Japanese.

For all enquiries, please contact +81 (0)80-8520-8009 or [email protected]

About the Event Collaborators:

Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC) is a joint initiative by the Osaka Prefectural Government, the Osaka City Government, and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, providing prospective foreign investors with essential information and advice for entering the Osaka market.

The Osaka Startup Ecosystem Consortium is a strong collaboration among Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, economic organizations and Osaka Business Development Agency, aiming to develop one of the world’s most innovative startup ecosystems in the center of Osaka and Kansai region, leveraging the accumulated industrial clusters and academic excellence of the area.

Global DX is an innovation consultancy based in Osaka Japan, bridging Japanese cities and companies with the world’s most cutting-edge startups, facilitating their new business development from PoC design through to contract negotiation, & supporting startups’ subsequent market entry.

Media Contact
Company Name: Global DX
Contact Person: Adam Claydon-Platt
Email: Send Email
City: Osaka
Country: Japan
Website: https://global-dx.jp