Nairobi Program Report
| Theme / Urban Challenge | Mitigation and Control of Flooding Caused by Heavy Rain, River Flooding, and Levee Breaches |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5th Aug - 9th Aug 2024 |
Program Introduction
General Meetings
- Introduction and idea exchanging meetings with Nairobi City County Government and other local key stakeholders during the stay,
General meeting：Introduction of Startups
Individual meeting：Discussion for collaboration with a private company
Individual Meetings
- Programmed tailor-made meetings with the local business key stakeholders and/or venture capitals were planned. (Eight independent meetings were scheduled for each participating startups on average)
The Final Presentation at Nairobi County Hall
Greetings from Nairobi county before the Pitches
Final Pitches
Feedbacks from Participating Startups
Opinions about the project and global business expansion in general were collected through participant interviews.
Difficulties Participants face during global business expansion
Information collection
The difficulties to obtain reliable and up-to-date market information through desktop research in Japan are significant, as developing countries have fewer potential partner companies that fulfill the transaction standards of Japan.
Information on regulation and trading law for oversea business expansion is often limited through desktop research.
Information on regulation and trading law for oversea business expansion is often limited through desktop research.
Market Development
The barriers faced when building networks with local government agencies and private are hard to overcome due to the lack of recognition and experience overseas.
Chances are that the company alone is not given enough attention, even after making direct contact with local stakeholders.
Feedbacks from participants
- We succeeded in effective information collection with the help of Tokyo Metropolitan Government
- We were able to secure appointments and conduct interviews with relevant stakeholders in Nairobi and efficiently gathered valuable information that could not be obtained through simple research, and we are actively planning expanding business into Nairobi and other relevant cities in Africa. All of this was achieved because the project is a joint initiative between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the City of Nairobi, making it highly reliable and recognized by government agencies and companies within Nairobi.
- The discussion goes on with the local companies even after returning to Japan
- We have been keeping in touch with partners that we met during the stay, not only Nairobi county but also private companies, aiming for future business collaboration even after returning to Japan.
- We were able to focus on the final presentation due to the continuous support
- We gained comprehensive support for traveling overseas and refining proposals, receiving various advice from the perspective of local stakeholders. We were able to focus on our presentation without extra concerns, despite it being our first time participating.