With a rapidly ageing population and dwindling workforce, the Japanese Health tech market is one of the world's largest and fastest growing. However, Japan is not an easy market to access. That is why Nordic collaboration is key - only by presenting a critical mass of highly relevant startups is it possible to attract high-value Japanese stakeholders. And only by selecting the strongest and most relevant companies from the entire Nordic region is it possible to reach this critical mass.
To meet this opportunity and challenge the obstacles, Nordic Innovation House Tokyo and Asia House organized a series of Health tech delegations to Tokyo. The delegations all lasted 5 days, and included access to major life science events, pitching and networking opportunities, visits to hospitals and R&D facilities, Japanese conglomerates, Nordic pharmaceuticals and business meetings.
The delegation programs were designed in close collaboration with the 5 Nordic Trade Promotion Organizations in Japan. The delegations were the first of a kind for the Nordic Health tech ecosystem focusing on Asia.
A total of 31 Nordic health tech companies participated in the delegations. The delegation programs provided participants with relevant contacts and concrete business leads:
"The organizers managed to secure a good selection of top-tier partners participating with high-level executives, meaning we could directly discuss potential collaborations with the right person. An excellent intro to the Japanese market!"
Matthew Liptrot, Cerebriu, Denmark
"NAVA and Nordic Innovation House Tokyo put together a fantastic itinerary, facilitating meetups with potential clients via events and visits. A smooth journey to get a foot into the Japanese market!"
Prateek Singh, Finnadvance, Finland
Background
The delegations to Japan are a part of the project: #NordicMade x Healthtech Showcasing in Asia which is funded under the Life Science and Health Tech program. The purpose of the project is to assist Nordic startups in entering the Asian markets.
