Jetro directing startups to Thailand expansion
Over 10,000 Japanese firms explore options
The Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) is promoting cooperation between Japan and Thailand to help bring Japanese startups overseas.
The group plans to open co-working spaces in Bangkok in 2019 and considers Thailand a key part of ongoing plans to train and mentor Japanese startups’ overseas employees.
The move is just one of Jetro’s strategies to double venture capital (VC) investment in Japanese-based startups by 2023 from 0.025% of Japan’s GDP, a figure of ¥100 billion, or 29 billion baht.
“Japan’s government has set up future investor strategies to attract local and overseas VC firms to invest in Japanese startups and grow the economy over the next four years,” said Hiroki Mitsumata, president of Jetro Bangkok.
In Japan, more than 10,000 startups are exploring new frontiers, but only a few have seen success in the global market.
To promote startups, Japan needs to strengthen overseas expansion rather than focus on the domestic market, he said.
The Japanese government aims to have 20 Japanese startups valued at US$1 billion (32.6 billion baht) — also known as a unicorn — by 2023. Japan has only two.
Japan has selected 92 high-potential startups to grow into potential unicorns under its J-Startups project.
Moreover, the Jetro Innovation Program (JIP) provides mentoring, pitching and business matching overseas. The JIP has selected seven Japanese startups to conduct business matching for the CEBIT Asean Thailand festival during Oct 18-22 at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
Jetro also has a Global Acceleration Hub scheme with a ¥200-million budget to provide co-working space services, mentoring, networking with VC firms, incubators and accelerators at 12 global locations, including Singapore.
Jetro is considering opening a co-working space in Bangkok because the city still does not have a fully functioning startup framework as in Singapore, but believes Bangkok has the potential to develop one because it is a large market that has many Japanese corporations already invested in Thailand.
Mr Mitsumata said Japanese startups have “deep technology” such as artificial intelligence, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT), but they still lack marketing capabilities.
There are several projects considering investing in Industry 4.0 themes, including medical development of simple blood tests, agriculture, fisheries, and advancement in shrimp aquaculture through IoT, he said.
Japan also has a temporary office for foreign startups that Thai startups can contact to expand their opportunities.
Jetro signed a memorandum of understanding with three organisations — the National Innovation Agency, the Thai e-Commerce Association (THECA) and the Thailand IoT Association — to exchange information to promote Japanese startups in Thailand.
Pun-arj Chiratana, executive director of the National Innovation Agency, said during the next three years Thailand will enter the second phase of promoting startup investment.
By having more international collaboration with Jetro and other strategic organisations, Thailand can act as a landing pad to attract overseas startups and benefit from smart visa privileges, he said.
Thanawat Malabuppha, president of
THECA, said online commerce in Thailand continues to grow. It is projected to increase from $900 million (29.3 billion baht) in 2015 to $11.1 billion (362 billion baht) in 2025, compound average growth of 29%.
The country has the second-largest number of e-commerce users in Asean, according to a joint study conducted by Temasek and Google.