July 6, 2022 Implementing Nationwide Accelerator Program for Creation of Regional ICT Startups

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) are implementing a nationwide accelerator program. This program aims to discover students and promising young entrepreneurs aspiring to start a business across Japan and support their business establishment throughout their fostering stage, including mentoring and business plan refinement, in order to create regional ICT startups that possess innovative technologies and services.
Now, MIC and NICT will hold an event entitled Demo Day of Entrepreneurs' Koshien (for students) and Entrepreneurs' Expo (for young entrepreneurs) at the Marubiru Hall & Conference Square on Tuesday, March 7 and Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Students and young entrepreneurs selected from all over Japan will meet there and present business plans that they refined as a result of the nationwide accelerator program.

1. Background and purpose

In the flow of changes in the global industrial structure of the ICT field due to the development of IoT, AI, big data, etc., it has become a challenge to create regional ICT startups with innovative technologies and services and to revitalize Japan's economy, along with improvements in its international competitiveness. For this reason, MIC and NICT support the discovery and development of next-generation ICT human resources for the expansion of local ICT startup businesses. These human resources include junior high school students, high school students, technical college students, university students, and graduate students who aspire to start businesses using ICT.

2. Nationwide accelerator program

MIC and NICT collaborate with entrepreneur support groups ^(*) that assist entrepreneurs throughout Japan and conduct a nationwide accelerator program. This program will provide consistent phase-specific support at the excavation phase, development phase, and commercialization support/business expansion phase.
The nationwide accelerator program invites people who are active as ICT industry stakeholders and venture capitalists to be ICT mentors and finds promising potential entrepreneurs at district (collaborative) competitions (excavation phase), offers mentoring and business plan refinement (development phase), and holds the Demo Day of Entrepreneurs' Koshien and Entrepreneurs' Expo, as an occasion to present their accomplishments (commercialization support/business expansion phase). Furthermore, the program will provide promising startups with opportunities to participate in large-scale exhibitions in Japan and overseas.

• (*)
  Entrepreneurial support group: Individuals, groups, etc. who plan and manage cooperative events throughout Japan and are implementing efforts to form a startup ecosystem in each region as the core of the local startup community.

1. District (collaborative) competition

If you are participating in the nationwide accelerator program, please apply for one of the district (collaborative) competitions, which are held in each region (the schedule is shown in the attached PDF). For areas with no district (collaborative) competitions, MIC and NICT is scheduling to accept application through a web entry system.
For the latest information on district (collaborative) competitions and web entry details, please check the website of the NICT, "ICT Startup Support Center."

2. Entrepreneurs' Koshien and Entrepreneurs' Expo

The best business plan presenters at the Entrepreneurs' Koshien or the Entrepreneurs' Expo will receive the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Award.
The dates and venue specified below are scheduled for this fiscal year. However, the events may be changed to online events, depending on the situation.

Dates:

Entrepreneurs' Koshien: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Entrepreneurs' Expo: Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Venue:

Marubiru Hall & Conference Square
(7F and 8F Marunouchi Building, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Detailed information will be provided closer to those dates.