GGA facilitated a 5-day Overseas Market Workshop to Japan

Singapore Business Federation leads 13 Singapore Business Representatives to visit 10 Japanese companies in its 4th round of Overseas Market Workshop to Japan

Global Partners Consulting Pte Ltd. is a consulting firm that supports overseas business expansion mainly in the Asia-Pacific region including Southeast Asia, has been commissioned by the Singapore Business Federation to facilitate the “Overseas Market Workshop to Japan 2023” (hereinafter “OMW to Japan”). The OMW to Japan took place from 29 May to 2 June 2023, where 13 Singapore business representatives (hereinafter “the Delegates”) traveled to major cities in Japan such as Tokyo and Osaka.

The OMW to Japan comprises three formal learning sessions and ten company visits. In accordance with the theme of “Future of AgeTech”, Japanese company representatives shared Japan’s high-tech solutions to mitigate the adverse impact of the country’s aging population with the Delegates.

▩ Background

Organised by SBF, the Overseas Market Workshop (OMW) to Japan 2023 is themed “Future of AgeTech”. “AgeTech” refers to technological solutions intended to improve the quality of life for the elderly. SBF has selected Japan as the optimal market to better understand AgeTech, due to the country’s relatively high elderly population and history in smart manufacturing. As Singapore is fast becoming an ageing society, Japan provides a suitable case study for Singapore to learn best practices from.

SBF has commissioned GGA to facilitate the OMW to Japan 2023, where the Delegates comprise 13 business representatives from Singapore-based companies. GGA’s facilitation consists of the following: (1) 3 formal learning sessions; (2) 10 company visits; and (3) 2 networking dinners. Overall, the Delegates indicated high satisfaction scores (ranging from 84.6% to 100.0%) towards the activities facilitated during the OMW to Japan.*

*Source: Post-event poll conducted by SBF (total number of respondents=13). The percentages are based on the top-3 boxes on a 10-point scale (i.e., scores of 8 or above).

▩ Details of OMW to Japan

The activities facilitated by GGA serve as the first step in encouraging the Delegates towards business expansion. The initial formal learning sessions establish the context of the Japan market as well as the AgeTech situation in Japan. These learnings are reinforced throughout the OMW to Japan via interactive product demonstrations and casual discussions over dinner. The final formal learning session serves to show possible next steps for the Delegates in terms of market entry into Japan. The Delegates do not simply learn about the situation of AgeTech in Japan, but they also learn about possible business applications of AgeTech and practical actions required for business expansion into Japan.

▲ Presentation by Mr. Masato Yamamoto (Senior Manager | Global Partners Technology).

Global Partners Technology is an IT consulting company under our group.

As for the company visits, GGA has carefully curated Japanese companies which provide products and services related to AgeTech. The ten companies selected include both startups as well as multinational corporations, and cover diverse sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, and Information Technology. This selection of companies has allowed the Delegates to observe the breadth of Japan’s AgeTech products/services, which include:

Technological solutions for dementia prevention/rehabilitation

Development of functional food to maintain one’s health

Development of technological devices to aid the elderly in their daily lives (e.g., during work, while commuting, medical diagnosis)

Company visits typically comprise a presentation followed by demonstration of its products. The presentations allow the Delegates to understand the respective company’s area of focus, whereas the demonstrations allow the Delegates to witness the various AgeTech innovations in action. Through this process, the Delegates have been able to internalise their learnings from the various companies visited.

▲ Delegates during the visit of ATC Ageless Centre, a permanent exhibition centre showcasing various AgeTech-related devices

In addition, GGA has also facilitated 2 networking dinners in Tokyo and Osaka. Besides the Delegates, other attendees of the 2 dinners include representatives from Japanese companies and Singaporean companies that have set up operations in Japan (hereinafter “Invited Guests”). The dinners offer a comfortable setting for attendees to continue discussions on market entry opportunities, beyond the rigid structure of formal learning sessions and company visits.

▲ Group photograph during the networking dinner in Tokyo

■About Singapore Business Federation

As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) champions the interests of the business community in Singapore in trade, investment and industrial relations. Nationally, SBF acts as the bridge between the government and businesses in Singapore to create a conducive business environment. Internationally, SBF represents the business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora for the purpose of trade expansion and business networking.

For more information on the Singapore Business Federation, please refer to the following link (in English): https://www.sbf.org.sg/

■About GGA

GGA, part of the Global Partners Consulting Group, is a fully independent consulting firm comprising professionals in various fields specialising in solving clients’ business issues in the Asian region. GGA provides seamless consulting services based on our professional experience, knowledge, information and networks. GGA has experience in negotiating for business alliances and new business creation with more than 200 local companies per year, as well as HR consulting projects in Singapore totalling in more than 300 cases. We are committed to helping our clients make the “Fair decisions” and achieving “Sustainable growth”.

If your company is interested in organising business meetings or training courses, please contact us for more information.

Company Profile

Company Name：Global Partners Consulting Inc.

Address: 〒102-0085(Zip code) Bancho M bldg 3rd Floor, 2-8, Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

CEO：Yasuo Sekiguchi

Incorporation：2000

Global Partners Consulting Group is an independent consulting firm that serves a wide range of client needs in business management, accounting and finance, overseas expansion, IT, and marketing. In addition to its head office in Japan, our group has four overseas offices and has helped more than 800 Japanese companies to succeed overseas in Singapore and other parts of Asia.

For the past 20 years, our group has been a corporate adviser to multinational companies and SMEs in Japan and Asia. As more and more companies seek cross-border strategic business alliances and investment opportunities, the Group will continue to work together to provide and pursue innovative and practical solutions and support to meet the strategic interests and needs of our valued clients.