Event Summary
JICA and Shimizu Corporation held an event to introduce and exchange opinions on startup support initiatives and case studies, and to explore ways to collaborate in the future. JICA and Shimizu Corporation will continue to exchange opinions on the most effective forms of collaboration from the perspectives of both startup support and solving issues in developing countries.
Event Title: Opinion exchange meeting with Shimizu Corporation on startup/entrepreneurship support
Date: January 29, 2025
Location: Shimizu Corporation’s “Onsho-Soshin-no-Mori NOVARE” (Note 1)
Program:
General introduction to NOVARE facilities
Visit to the manufacturing experience and training facility (NOVARE Academy)
Exchange of opinions on startup/entrepreneurship support
Contents
Background of the event
JICA supports businesses that can contribute to solving social issues in developing countries through such programs as “JICA Biz” (Note 2), which supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and SDGs businesses; (2) the “JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Entrepreneurship Support Program (BLUE)” (Note 3), which supports the entrepreneurship of returned JICA Volunteers; and (3) the “Start-up Support Organization Partnership Agreement (commonly known as Plus)” (Note 4), which aims to support start-ups by government-affiliated organizations. (Note 3), and (4) the “Startup Support Organization Partnership Agreement (commonly known as Plus)” (Note 4), which was established in 2020 to support startups by government-affiliated organizations.
(Shimizu Corporation) and JICA recently visited Shimizu Corporation’s innovation creation facility “Onko-Soshin-no-Mori NOVARE” in Koto-ku, Tokyo, with the aim of introducing each other’s startup support initiatives and case studies, exchanging opinions, and exploring future collaboration measures. The 30 JICA staff members visited Shimizu Corporation’s innovation creation facility “Onno-Soshin-no Mori NOVARE” in Koto-ku, Tokyo.
The impetus for this event came after the annual exchange meeting of the “In-house Diagnostician Association,” to which the Shimizu Corporation Small and Medium Business Diagnostician Association and the JICA Small and Medium Business Diagnostician Association also belong, was held at NOVARE in late November of last year. Specifically, the members discussed the possibility of collaboration and co-creation not only between individual in-house diagnosticians who are involved in start-up support, but also between those who are actively engaged in the same support as an organization.
- inspection of hands-on training facilities
Shimizu Corporation’s NOVARE is a facility that began operating in 2023 as a center for innovation and human capital development, and includes facilities for information dissemination and exchange, research facilities for production innovation, and hands-on training facilities.
The event began with a visit to a hands-on training facility (NOVARE Academy “Monozukuri Sincerity School”). By actually seeing a mock-up of an actual construction site, participants learned about the various technologies possessed by the Japanese construction and manufacturing industries, as well as the unique facilities and equipment that are available only in disaster-prone countries, and had a good opportunity to deepen their knowledge of infrastructure projects, which are also being implemented by JICA in numerous development cooperation projects. The program was a good opportunity for the participants to deepen their knowledge of infrastructure projects, many of which are carried out by JICA.
(JICA participants receiving an explanation of the mock-up from the head of the Monozukuri Sincerity School)
- Introduction of both parties’ approaches and exchange of opinions
This was followed by an exchange of opinions on startup support. Shimizu introduced its corporate venture capital (CVC) (Note 5), start-up support, acceleration program (Note 6), and in-house entrepreneurship system, etc. JICA introduced its start-up support projects such as JICA Biz and BLUE mentioned above, as well as start-up support projects for Latin America and the Caribbean region, such as “TSUBASA” (Note 7) and innovation reflux project “BAILA” (Note 8). JICA introduced its projects and case studies related to startup support, such as “TSUBASA” (Note 7), a startup support project for Latin America and the Caribbean, and “BAILA” (Note 8), an innovation reflux project.
JICA asked many questions about Shimizu’s efforts, and a lively exchange of opinions took place on a wide range of topics, including how to develop discernment when making investment decisions as a CVC, the results and issues required for investment, and how Japanese infrastructure-related companies can demonstrate their strengths in overseas markets.
Shimizu Corporation also expressed interest in collaborating with startup companies participating in JICA’s existing projects and in JICA’s efforts to support entrepreneurship in Africa and Latin America, and commented positively that they would like to start small and build on successful collaboration experiences.
(Shimizu and JICA both introduced their initiatives in the startup field and exchanged opinions on collaboration at the NOVARE Hub, which provides a place for innovation promotion and co-creation.)
- for future collaboration
Through this exchange of opinions, both organizations have various initiatives centered on startup support, and we felt that synergy effects can be expected through collaboration. Both organizations will continue to exchange opinions on how to form effective partnerships from the perspective of both start-up support and solving issues in developing countries.
Various building materials (image 1)
Various building materials (image) 2) Various building materials (image) 3)
(Note 1)Onsho-Soshin-no Mori NOVARE｜Shimizu Corporation
(Note 2) SMEs and SDGs Business Support Program (JICA Biz)
https://www.jica.go.jp/activities/schemes/priv_partner/activities/sme/index.html
(Note 3) JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Entrepreneurship Support Project (BLUE)
https://blue.jica.go.jp/
(Note 4) “Plus” (Platform for unified support for startups), a collaboration agreement for startup support organizations
https://www.jica.go.jp/activities/schemes/priv_partner/sdgs/2024/20241129_01.html
(Note 5) CVC stands for Corporate Venture Capital. (Note 5) CVC stands for Corporate Venture Capital. It is an activity organization in which business companies form funds with their own funds to invest in and support emerging companies (venture companies), mainly unlisted companies.
(Source: https://www.nomura.co.jp/terms/japan/ko/A02735.html)
(Note 6) A program to grow (scale) a business in a short period of time.
(Source: https://www.sgsaga.jp/frmAcceleration.aspx)
(Note 7) JICA’s TSUBASA (Transformational Start Ups’ Business Acceleration for the SDGs Agenda) startup support project for Latin America and the Caribbean
https://tsubasa-jica.com/
(Note 8) JICA’s “BAILA” project for collaboration with Latin American startups
https://www.jica.go.jp/overseas/america/plaza/event/2024/1554019_52767.html
© Source JICA
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