‘Gotong-royong’: EnterpriseSG pilots community-driven scheme to support S’pore firms in Japan
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EnterpriseSG has tapped Singaporean companies in Japan like co-working space provider JustCo to offer discounts to newcomers.
PHOTO: JUSTCOGLOBAL
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TOKYO – After Mr Daniel Lim, founder of Singaporean start-up Pi-xcels, picked up his Japan residence card at the airport on Wednesday, he went straight to the launch of a fortuitously named scheme: Welcome To Japan.
The pilot initiative supported by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) aims to help entrepreneurs like Mr Lim, 45, succeed in the notoriously difficult Japanese market by lowering barriers of entry.
Mr Fabian Tan, EnterpriseSG’s regional director for Japan, told The Straits Times that Welcome To Japan is a “starter pack” programme that offers holistic and specialised support for Singapore businesses.
EnterpriseSG has tapped two Singaporean companies in Japan to offer discounts to newcomers: co-working space provider JustCo,
It is also working with two agencies to offer free consultations: Singapore-founded brand activation agency Pico International, which has worked on such Japan projects like the Tokyo Olympics and Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, as well as Japanese business advisory Japan Way, which offers consultations on market entry and business strategy.
“We’re doing this because we need to scale up efforts to help more Singapore companies looking to land in Japan,” Mr Tan said, citing a surge in business interest in Japan after a bilateral agreement on start-up and innovation cooperation
Citing the community spirit of “gotong-royong”, Mr Tan said: “We firmly believe in the value of partnerships and collaboration. It takes a village, and EnterpriseSG is a node within an ecosystem of partners.”
He added that he hopes to rope in partners in other areas such as logistics and transportation, accounting, legal services and banks.
Talent, especially Japanese speakers, is another area whose importance many companies have underestimated, Mr Tan observed, adding that he is exploring opportunities with universities.
The hybrid launch event on Wednesday, held at JustCo’s premises near the Tokyo Station, was attended by representatives of 30 companies, as well as the Singapore Business Federation and the Restaurant Association of Singapore.
Pi-xcels’ Mr Lim, the newly minted Tokyo resident, praised the Welcome To Japan initiative as one that can give a leg-up to new entrants to Japan, though he admitted that his company is at a better starting point than most.
It has been awarded a grant of up to 125 million yen (S$1.24 million) over four years through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Green Finance Subsidy Programme, and is already in talks with many large Japanese banks.
Pi-xcels’ patented technology allows retailers to go paperless during the checkout process by issuing e-receipts using a smartphone’s near-field communication (NFC) capability. All consumers have to do is to tap their phones onto a reader, without the need for any pre-installed application.
Still, Mr Lim told ST that he would consider tapping the consultancy services via Welcome To Japan for advice and ideas.
The initiative was also praised by companies like The Soup Spoon, whose managing director, Mr Andrew Chan, said he saw “vast potential” in the Japan market with a growing demand to eat healthy, even as he acknowledged local competitors like Soup Stock Tokyo.
The company has always been keen to venture into Japan, which Mr Chan described as a “very homogeneous and also quite a tough market to navigate by yourself”.
In this regard, Welcome To Japan can act as a springboard.
“For a lot of companies in a new country, the question is how and where do you start? Where do you find the support network?” he said.
“It’s about starting right – often if you make the wrong first move, it can set you back and you never get to start. A platform like this is targeted at the different areas of help, where you need more resources.”
Another potential user is manufacturer Giken Sakata, which, despite its Japanese name, was set up in Singapore in 1979 and was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 1993.
The company, which designs and produces car and computer parts, among other things, currently has just two representatives based in Saitama, north of Tokyo, to liaise with local clients.
But it hopes to expand its presence in Japan, and a co-working space may be helpful for a small outfit like theirs, said corporate marketing manager Haruhiko Otsuka.
“We can network and exchange information with others,” said Mr Otsuka. “And that could lead to new areas of growth.”
