Government Grant Opportunities For Companies in Japan and How To Increase Application Success Rates
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A Vital Step In Increasing Grant Success Rates: The “Management of Innovation Plan”
Applicants may elect to prepare a keiei kakushin keikaku (“Management of Innovation Plan”) document—which formally describes the company’s business plan in detail—and submit this alongside their application.
Although not officially listed as a requirement for the application process, a completed “Management of Innovation Plan” signals that the applying company regards its product or service very seriously, helping to increase the overall likelihood of approval. It could perhaps even be said that preparing this document as a companion to grant applications is considered an unspoken expectation.
Detailed Information on the keiei kakushin keikaku (In Japanese):
http://www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp/chushou/shoko/keiei/kakushin/
Specialists are available in Japan to prepare this document on request, requiring some general input from the entrepreneur and only a small amount of personal Japanese ability in many cases. We highly recommend that those looking to apply for grants utilize such services.
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Additional Information Regarding Grants To Come
As existing English-language resources for these grant programs and submission processes are currently very scarce, we will be continuously putting together and releasing additional information. Details to come include types of grant categories and what received funds may be used for, to name a few.
FREA is able to provide English support and assistance in preparing applications for grant programs, as well referrals to specialists for the “Management of Innovation Plan” document.
We hope that this reference information may help many more foreigner entrepreneurs and business owners in Japan to have increased access to funding!