News Releases
2013

* Information contained in this news release is current as of its date of announcement. Be aware that information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2013 - Entrepreneurs Pitch Business Plans
in Japan at Asia’s Largest International Business Competition
Startups Nominated from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam

May 14, 2013
Future Design Center Incorporated Association
TX Entrepreneur Partners (General Incorporated Association)
Division of University Corporate Relations, The University of Tokyo
Chiba Prefecture
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

The Future Design Center, TX Entrepreneur Partners, the University of Tokyo’s Division of University Corporate Relations, Chiba Prefecture, and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. are pleased to announce the Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2013 (AEA 2013), which will be held over a three-day period from May 29 to 31, 2013. The primary venue for this international business competition for Asian startups will be Tokatsu Techno Plaza in the Kashiwa-no-ha Campus district in Chiba Prefecture’s Kashiwa City.

The purpose of AEA is to nurture entrepreneurial spirit in Asia while also establishing Kashiwa-no-ha Campus - a district created by cutting-edge urban planning for new industry creation - as a major hub of global innovation. In its second year, AEA adds new awards and prizes, now providing office space and support services for new businesses to enter the Chinese market in addition to Japan. AEA 2013 is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in expanding their businesses’ global development to benefit from substantial support.

Twenty technology startups from across Asia have been nominated to present their business plans in the 2013 competition. These businesses were selected for their innovativeness, strong economic and social impact potential, and implementation feasibility. Over this three-day period, nominees will benefit from mentoring provided by venture capitalists in Japan and discussions with peers and experts, as they take advantage of extensive networking opportunities. On the program’s final day, entrepreneurs will present their business plans before the panel of judges and a general audience, and award-winners will be announced.

In addition to the prize money, winners of the Asian Entrepreneurship Award receive a variety of prizes designed to help these startups grow their businesses globally. The AEA host and co-hosts have provided support services to the companies awarded First Prize (Clearbridge BioMedics - Singapore) and the Chiba Prefecture Governor’s Prize (Flexoresearch Group - Thailand) at the first AEA held in May 2012. These services have supported these companies’ entry into the Japanese market, providing them with a base for operations, legal support, and introductions to human resources and business partners. This past spring, these two companies moved into Tokatsu Techno Plaza, an incubation facility in the Kashiwa-no-ha Campus district, to launch their businesses in Japan.

In its second year, AEA 2013 adds the Shui On Group Prize conferred by China’s Shui On Group. The winner of this prize will have access to the InnoSpace incubation facilities in Shanghai to use as a base of operations for launching in the Chinese market. The Shui On Group Prize winner will also receive local mentoring, as well as legal, technical, and human resources support services.

In addition to the business plan competition, AEA 2013 offers an extensive array of interesting programs. Participants will have the opportunity to attend lectures on the social significance of entrepreneurship and the support structures available for startups, as well as hear speeches from last year’s award-winners. In order to attract an even larger audience this year, programs open to the general public will be offered free of charge. We hope these programs will provide an extensive audience - including investors, business persons, students wishing to start their own businesses in the future, and others who want to take advantage of this valuable opportunity - a chance to meet the most exceptional entrepreneurs in Asia, learn about cutting-edge technologies and business models, and discover new investment and business partnership opportunities.


AEA 2012 finals. Presentations and Q&A sessions were conducted in English.

Announcement of AEA 2012 winners; first prizewinner, Clearbridge BioMedics (third from right)

General Information

Name Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2013 (AEA 2013)
Dates May 29 (Wed) - 31 (Fri), 2013
   May 29: Yurakucho Asahi Hall (Yurakucho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)
   May 30 - 31: Tokatsu Techno Plaza (Kashiwa-no-ha Campus, Kashiwa City, Chiba)
Language English (Simultaneous Japanese-English interpreting will be offered at some programs.)
Admission Free (Excluding certain programs)
Website http://www.fdc.or.jp/aea/en/
Host Future Design Center Incorporated Association
Co-Hosts TX Entrepreneur Partners (General Incorporated Association); Division of University Corporate Relations, The University of Tokyo; Chiba Prefecture, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Nomination of Entrants

Each member of the Nominating Committee nominates one company from respective countries and regions that meet the following criteria:

  1. Established less than five years ago
  2. Not listed on public stock exchange
  3. Technology startup

Note: See attachments for more information on entrants and members of the Nominating Committee.

Award Procedures

  • The entrant companies present their business plans in the semi-final and final rounds held on May 31.
  • Semi-finals held with entrants giving ten-minute presentations on their businesses. The six top-placing companies go on to compete in the finals.
  • Finals held with six companies giving 15-minute presentations. Award-winners selected by an impartial panel of judges.

Standards for Review

  1. Innovativeness / economic and social impact of the business (potential of the business to change the world, scalability of the business)
  2. Implementation feasibility of innovation (competitive advantages, management team, overall consistency of the business strategies, communication skills including presentation itself)

Awards

  • First Prize: 3 million yen in prize money
  • Second Prize: 1.5 million yen in prize money
  • Third Prize: 500,000 yen in prize money
    Note: First, second and third prize winners will also each receive two laptop computers courtesy of Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd.
  • Chiba Prefecture Governor’s Prize
    Three-year free tenancy in Tokatsu Techno Plaza*
    * Tokatsu Techno Plaza is an incubation facility on Kashiwa-no-ha Campus in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture.
  • Intel Prize*
    Qualifies to compete in Intel Asia Pacific Challenge, an Asian entrepreneur competition sponsored by Intel Corporation, to be held August 2013 in Taiwan
    *Prize awarded to top-placing team among the entrants from Japan.
  • Shui On Group Prize1 (new in 2013):
    • Right to use InnoSpace2 as an operational base for entering the Chinese market (six months, free use for up to two persons)
    • Free KIC and InnoSpace business-matching sessions
    • Free support services for incorporation of business, recruiting, legal consultation, etc.
    • Return air ticket for two persons of the winning team between their home country and Shanghai, China
    *1. Awarded to the top-placing entrant whose business deals with IT or IT-related clean technology
    *2. InnoSpace is an incubation facility located in the Knowledge and Information Community (KIC) complex in Shanghai.
  • Japan New Business Conferences Chairman’s Prize (new award in 2013):300,000 yen in prize money

About the Host

Future Design Center Incorporated Association (FDC)
Website: http://www.fdc.or.jp/
Future Design Center (FDC) is a think tank that brings together the most advanced talent and technologies from Japan and around the world to address a variety of issues, including the environment and resources, food supply, medical care, and education, and provides state-of-the-art models for practical and concrete solutions to these problems. Entrepreneurs with foresight, ambition, and the ability to implement these new solutions are critical in the fields related to the FDC mission. FDC hosts the Asian Entrepreneur Award in order to support entrepreneurs from across Asia who are taking on the challenges of this type of innovation and promote the creation of new industry.

About the Co-Hosts

TX Entrepreneur Partners (General Incorporated Association)
Website: http://www.tepweb.jp/e/
TX Entrepreneur Partners (TEP) is a voluntary support organization for the activities of entrepreneurs and business startups that operate along the Tsukuba Express rail line. TEP collaborates with local universities, research institutions, government entities, private enterprises, and individuals to build a network to support sustainable ventures. The organization sponsors the Asian Entrepreneurship Award to provide entrepreneurs with the opportunity to broaden their perspectives beyond their own countries or regions and take a wider view including all of Asia and the world, while also fostering the environment needed to nurture entrepreneurship in the area along the Tsukuba Express rail line.

Division of University Corporate Relations, The University of Tokyo
Website: http://www.ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/
The University of Tokyo’s Division of University Corporate Relations aims to ensure that the results of the original research conducted at the University of Tokyo are practically applied in society and to promote innovation with strong impact by providing support for the entire intellectual property process from its discovery, evaluation, management and application through the starting of businesses and commercialization. In the area of support for business startups and university-originated ventures, the division implements a wide range of activities; in addition to incubation projects and a program that nurtures and trains student entrepreneurs, the division is also involved in funding business startups through University of Tokyo Edge Capital Co., Ltd. By co-sponsoring the Asian Entrepreneurship Award, the division is focused on further fostering a culture of entrepreneurship with a global perspective.

Chiba Prefecture Website: http://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/english/
Conveniently located adjacent to Tokyo and home to Narita International Airport - a hub linking Japan to the rest of the world - Chiba Prefecture has benefited from a great deal of talent, as well as from its location adjacent to the nation’s capital. In the area along the Tsukuba Express rail line that thrives with the University of Tokyo and other academic and research institutions, as well as high-tech companies operating in such fields as IT and biotechnology, the prefecture has undertaken a number of initiatives designed to create new industry, promoting research and development linking industry and academia with the Tokatsu Techno Plaza incubation facility and other institutions. By bringing together the best entrepreneurs and venture supporters from Japan and overseas at the Asian Entrepreneurship Award, Chiba Prefecture aims to solidify its position as a base for innovation and initiative.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. Website: https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/kashiwanoha/e/
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. is currently implementing an urban development project at the Kashiwa-no-ha Campus district based on its “Smart City” concept of urban living focusing on co-existing with nature, health and longevity, and the creation of new industry. A project is currently underway to build a complex in front of Kashiwa-no-ha Campus station, with plans to house creative office space surrounded by lush greenery and an innovation base equipped with venture-support infrastructure and services. This project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2014. Co-hosting the Asian Entrepreneurship Award is a key aspect of Mitsui Fudosan’s urban planning with a focus on the creation of new industry.

Asian Entrepreneurship Awards 2013 - Program

May 29 (Wed) -Venue: Yurakucho Asahi Hall (2-5-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) Commemorative Lecture Session“Calling All Young Entrepreneurs!”

13:00 Opening Remarks
Shigeo Kagami, Nomination Committee Chairman for AEA 2013, Professor, University of Tokyo
13:15 Speech: Competing on the Global Stage
Dai Tamesue, former professional track-and-field athlete, Representative Director, Athlete Society
14:00 Speech: From Japan to the World - Growth and Challenges for LINE, the Global App
Akira Morikawa, CEO, LINE Corporation
14:45 Break
15:00 Panel Discussion
Moderator: Shigeo Kagami
Panelists: Dai Tamesue and Akira Morikawa
16:00 Break
16:15 Mentoring Session (ten-minute presentations by entrants + 15-minute mentoring sessions)
18:15 Closing
  Orientation, excursion and reception programs are scheduled in the morning and the evening for the award entrants.

May 30 (Thu) -Venue: Tokatsu Techno Plaza (5-4-6 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba)
Symposium - Innovation from Asia

10:00 Opening Remarks
Hiroshi Komiyama, Advocate/Top Advisor at Future Design Center
10:40 Keynote Speech: “Delight: It's In Our Pocket”
Tomoko Namba, Founder and Director, DeNA Co., Ltd.
11:30 Speeches by AEA 2012 prizewinners
12:00 Break
13:00 Unconference Sessions (Hosted by: Loftwork, Inc.)
“Unconference” is a participant-driven meeting with all members participating in free discussion with the theme decided by participants. Participants will break up into seven groups for three separate 45-minute sessions, designed to encourage networking and discussions fostering innovative ideas.
Any participant is welcome to suggest a topic to be discussed. The topics will be solicited on the morning of the 30th at the venue.
17:00 Break
17:30 Networking Dinner
This dinner for Unconference participants is presented as an opportunity to promote more in-depth interaction with young Asian entrepreneurs. (An entry fee of JPY 2,000 will be charged at the reception desk.)

May 31 (Fri) -Venue: Tokatsu Techno Plaza (5-4-6 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba)

9:30 Semi-finals
Twenty entrants are divided into four groups, with each company giving a ten-minute presentation followed by a ten-minute Q&A.
12:00 Break
13:00 Poster Sessions
Entrants speak directly with visitors to promote their products, technologies, and business models.
13:30 Finalists Announced/td>
14:10 Finals Six top-placing entrants give 15-minute presentations followed by a ten-minute Q&A.
17:15 Closing
  The Farewell Reception will be held at 19:00 for entrants and invited guests. AEA 2013 award winners will be announced at the reception.
Award winners will be announced publicly at around 20:30 on May 31, with the list of winners being posted on the Future Design Center website (http://www.fdc.or.jp/aea/en/).