JETRO Partners with Top Accelerators to Launch “Global Startup Acceleration Program”

100 Companies from Across Japan to Participate in 6 Specialized Courses

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), with the support of the Government of Japan’s Cabinet Office, will launch this year’s Global Startup Acceleration Program (GSAP) in September. The acceleration program will focus on supporting the overseas expansion of Japanese startups. 100 eager startups have been carefully selected to participate in the free program.

Full list of participating startups

For this program, JETRO is honored to collaborate with multiple world-class unicorn-creating accelerators – AlchemistX, Berkeley SkyDeck, Blue Startups, Cambridge Innovation Center, Draper University, and Plug and Play Japan – to offer 6 different specialized courses that the startups will be sorted into. Five courses will be conducted exclusively in English, and JETRO will provide support for global expansion to each startup according to the needs of each company. The acceleration program will be conducted in a hybrid format and last until March 2024.

The Global Startup Acceleration Program (GSAP) – formerly known as the Startup City Acceleration Program – was originally founded in 2020 to help facilitate the growth and expansion of Japanese startup ecosystems. While the program initially targeted 8 specific startup ecosystem hub cities in Japan, last year JETRO and METI decided to expand the coverage nationwide, and thus changed the name of the program to fit its broadened purpose.

This year, some of the partner accelerators will travel to Japan to conduct face-to-face boot camps. In addition, during the U.S.-based portion of the program, participants will be offered interviews with potential business partners, in-person mentoring, tours of local startup ecosystems, and demo days, as well as joint events with startups from around the world. The goal is to help the Japanese startups build strong networks with overseas investors, potential business partners, and other active startups. Additionally, participants will receive support in formulating business plans and marketing promotion aimed at the overseas market.

For more information about JETRO’s acceleration programs, please visit: https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/startup/acceleration.html

About JETRO

JETRO is the Japanese government agency responsible for promoting trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. JETRO provides support and assistance to American companies entering the Japanese market and to Japanese companies expanding overseas. JETRO was established in 1958 and has more than 70 offices around the world, including six offices in the USA. JETRO provides a wide range of services, including timely market intelligence, extensive business development support, and relevant business events, all designed to encourage business partnerships between American companies and Japan.