15 Startups From Japan Aim To Establish Businesses And Partnerships In Brazil

JETRO Expects Companies To Turn Their Eyes To Brazil; Selected By ScaleUp In Brazil In The First Phase Are From The Areas Of Energy, Clean Technology, Agritech, Fintech, Healtech

July 2022 – Investments in the startup market in Japan have been on an upward trend in recent years. There are just over 10,000 startups in that country. In 2014, investments totaled US$ 10.3 billion, a figure that jumped to US$ 11.43 billion in 2015.  In 2019, US$ 25.38 billion were invested, as reported by the Venture Enterprise Center of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.

Now, Japanese startups, which have been making timid movements to tap into the Brazilian market, especially with the help of JETRO São Paulo , have an excellent opportunity to gain space and partners in the country through ScaleUp in Brazil (SUIB), a program created in 2019 as a soft-landing platform resulting from a partnership between the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil), the Brazilian Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital (ABVCAP), and Israel Trade and Investment.

This year marks the first time Japan participates in the program, following in the footsteps of Singapore. In previous editions, only companies from Israel were invited. A total of 107 startups applied for this edition of the program, and 35 (15 Japanese, 15 Israeli, and 5 Singaporean) were selected based on four criteria: team, degree of innovation, market fit, and maturity.

Three of them received the highest scores during the evaluation process: Corsight AI (Israel), Graymatics (Singapore), and Sagri Co., Ltd (Japan).

Sagri Co., Ltd is an agritech that collects data such as soil chemistry indices and proposes the ideal allocation of fertilizers to farmers, reducing greenhouse gases derived from chemical fertilizers. “We at Sagri are very happy to participate in this program. We hope to enter Brazil with the support of the SUIB team.”

“In the program, we would like to gain a clear and accurate understanding of the Brazilian market and then find the ideal partner to enter the country,” states the head of International Business, Satoshi Nagata.

Japanese Eyes On Opportunities

 With the selection of 15 companies, JETRO hopes that Japanese startups will turn their eyes to Brazil, especially because logistical and cultural issues often restrict their focus to Southeast Asia. “Japan and Brazil are major trading partners, but relations in the area of innovation have been timid. Our role is to bridge this gap, as we feel there is great potential for the growth of new businesses,” says Hiroshi Hara, president of JETRO in Brazil.

Many of the Japanese startups selected for the first phase of the program, which runs from July 26 to September 9, are in the areas of energy, clean technology, agritech, fintech, and healtech. These are sectors that Hara has previously indicated as of great interest to the Japanese. “ScaleUp in Brazil will be important for companies from both countries to foster partnerships. The Brazilian startup market is mature and full of innovation,” he affirms.

Meet The 15 Japanese Startups In The Table Below

Second Phase Starting In October – In this first phase of ScaleUp in Brazil, Japanese startups will have access to informational materials about the Brazilian market and customized reports for the sector in which the company operates. Selected companies will also participate in webinars on topics ranging from “Doing Business in Brazil,” “Navigating Brazil’s Legal and Tax Environment,” and “The Brazilian Innovation Ecosystem,” and finally, online pitch meetings with local investors.

Of the 35 companies selected by Apex-Brasil and ABVCAP in the first stage, a new selection will reduce this number to just 20. From the 15 Japanese startups, five will move on to the next phase, starting in October, in an immersion into the Brazilian market alongside five from Singapore and ten from Israel. “Japan wants to help, invest, and the startup ecosystem in Brazil is much more advanced than in Japan. In addition to doing business, we are here to learn from Brazilians as well,” emphasizes Hara.

The number of 107 companies registered in SUIB 2022 is a record, justifiable by the introduction of Japanese and Singaporean companies into the program. In the first edition, 49 Israeli companies were counted, with 20 entering the first stage and five making it to the final. In the second, there were 62, with 16 participants in the inaugural stage and 10 accelerated in the final phase. In total, 12 contracts have already been signed and about US$ 10 million in announced investments.

For more information, visit https://www.scaleupinbrazil.com/.

ABOUT JETRO SÃO PAULO

The Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) has been operating in Brazil for over 60 years, promoting trade and investment between companies in both countries and attracting Brazilian investments to Japan, as well as improving the business environment. Established in 1958 in Tokyo, it has 50 domestic offices and 76 abroad, in 55 countries. In Brazil, it only maintains an office in the São Paulo capital. (https://www.jetro.go.jp/brazil)  

Source: Via Core Group