Osaka Business Development Agency to jointly support startups from Kansai region

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- The Osaka Business Development Agency (OBDA) will be supporting startups from the Kansai region to take on global challenges in an initiative known as “Kansai Startup Mashups”.

It will do so via a joint cooperation with the Keihanshin Startup Ecosystem Consortium and JETRO Osaka, a statement said.

Kansai Startup Mashups will promote various initiatives with the first event to be held on Jan 25, 2023.

The statement said that Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe offer a conducive environment for startups with their concentration on bio- and healthcare-related companies, monozukuri (manufacturing), information and communications technology-related companies, as well as universities and research institutes.

Due to its strong environment, the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe (Hyogo) consortium was selected in 2020 as global hub cities in the Japanese government's strategy to become a world-class start-up hub. This has resulted in universities, companies, and local governments to come together to form an ecosystem of collaboration.

The newly launched Kansai Startup Mashups aims to create a world-class startup ecosystem in anticipation of the 2025 Kansai Expo and post-expo.

It is also aimed to create a framework that will lead to the birth of unicorn companies from the Kansai region and the creation and support of startups to become major players.

“In this initiative, the three capitals of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe will collaborate to link the circle of cooperation and support among universities, businesses, and government, and to disseminate Kansai startups both domestically and internationally,” it said.

-- BERNAMA