AEA 2021

2021 Award Outline

Date Wednesday, October 27th to Thursday, October 28th, 2021
※JST 13:00~19:00
Method all held ON-LINE
Host Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Co-hosts Division of University Corporate Relations – The University of Tokyo
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
TX Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association (TEP)
The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs (JASVE)
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)


Award Procedures

(1) The entrant companies present their business plans in the semi-final and final sessions.
(2) In the semi-finals, each of the entrants delivers a 10-minute presentation on their businesses. The top six goes to the final.
(3) At the final session, finalists make a 10-minute presentation. After a fair judgement, prize winners of each prize will be elected.



Judging criteria

(1) Innovativeness, commercial viability and social impact of the business, with consideration given to the potential of the business to expand and bring about changes in the global economy and society.

(2) Business performance, which includes the nominee’s competitive advantages, management team, strategic vision, and communication capabilities, including presentation skills.

(3) Possibility of collaboration with Japanese large corporations.


Awards

・First Prize: 3 million JPY
・Second Prize: 1 million JPY
・Third Prize: 500,000 JPY


*AEA Yunus Social Business Award:1 on 1 online meeting with Prof. Muhammad Yunus
 →The award will be given to the team which meets all 7 principles of Yunus Social Business and excels overall.

*Fujitsu Accelerator Award : ScanSnap iX100
 →Award to the startup with the greatest potential to solve the issues facing society and Fujitsu customers in collaboration with Fujitsu’s business units and affiliated companies.

*IP Bridge Award:Strategy building support for Intellectual property

*Life Science Award:
 1.
Support for scheduling 1on1 meeting with companies in LINK-J network during business trip to Japan and PR support at LINK-J website after consultation with LINK-J.
 2. Posting an interview article of the award-winning company on website of LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Net.
 3. (Japanese startups only) One-year free membership of LINK-J

*Microsoft Award:Coaching and Review of IoT system architecture on Azure by Cloud Solution Architect from Azure Tech Team, IoT Asia
(Notes: The scope and period of support will be defined depending on the technical conditions and scenarios.)

*The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs(JASVE) Award:50,000 JPY
 →The award will be given by JASVE to the most challenging team in solving problems and which is full of entrepreneurship.


Qualification for Entry

Startup companies must meet all of the following requirements.
(1)Must be a technology startup which has solution related to either Healthcare, Work & Life style reform, or Sustainability.

(2) Must be an early stage startup which has completed PoC (Proof of Concept), and is able to communicate with a specific customer by using prototypes, samples or mockups.
 — No conditions are required for number of years from establishment.
 — Startups invested by VCs or planned to be invested are acceptable, but the capital amount must be 1M USD or under.
 — Public companies or affiliates of large corporations are not accepted.

(3) Must be nominated by a person responsible for startup incubation/acceleration at a university, research institute, incubator or accelerator.

(4) Startup company must be able to participate in all the programs held between October 27th – October 28th, 2021.
 ※ Your absence to some programs can be reasons for disqualification.

(5) (Non-Japanese startups only)
Must have specific interest in Japanese market or desire in expanding business in relation with Japanese corporations.


2021 Program

The AEA 2021 will bring together 30 selected startups from across Asia providing solutions in the areas of healthcare, work & lifestyle reform, and sustainability, all of which have become key issues globally. During the event, the startups will deliver business presentations showcasing their services and products, with the winners being selected on the basis of a wide range of criteria. These will include innovativeness, the social and economic impact of their products and services, their commercial viability, the potential for collaboration with Japanese companies, and the opportunity for business expansion in Japan. The entire event will be held online.

* Program detail is subject to change without notice.  

 

■Day1 / Wednesday, October 27, 2021

13:00-13:10(JST) Greetings from Chairman of AEA Steering Committee

Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation,
Graduate School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo

13:10-14:00(JST) Self-Introduction of Startup Entrants
14:00-14:10(JST) Orientation
14:10-14:20(JST) Introduction to Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City
14:30-17:00(JST) Semi-final Session (6 groups)

 

■Day2 / Thursday, October 28, 2021

13:00-16:00(JST) Final Session
16:15-16:30(JST) AEA 10th Anniversary : History and Messages
16:30-16:50(JST) AEA Alumni Speech
17:00-17:55(JST) Keynote Speech
・Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
・Masaharu Okada, Professor, Executive Director,
 Yunus & Shiiki Social Business Research Center,Kyushu University
・Dr. Ashir Ahmed,Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering,
 Kyushu University, Director, Global Communication Center, Grameen Communications,
 Bangladesh and Founder and CTO, SocialTech Japan Inc. 
17:55-18:30(JST) Panel Session
【Panelist】

Ms. Jenna Lee

Asia IoT Technical Sales Director, Microsoft Corporation


Prof. Masaharu Okada

Professor, Executive Director,
Yunus & Shiiki Social Business Research Center Kyushu University


Dr./ Prof. Masako EGAWA

Specially Appointed Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration,
Hitotsubashi University


【Moderator】

Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of AEA Steering Committee

18:30-19:00(JST) Announcement of Award Winners and Farewell Speech








2021 Startup Entrants


2021 Winners

ASIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD 2021 Winners

Award winners were selected among 30 startup entrants of Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2021 after the Semi-final session on 27th October and Final session on 28th October.

Announced at 19:00 Thursday, 28 October, 2021

 

 

■First Prize:

Award 3 million JPY

Tectonus Limited

New Zealand

KEANE LEE

Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder

 

 

 

■Second Prize:

Award 1 million JPY

More Foods Innotech Co., Ltd.

Thailand

KANWRA TANACHOTEVORAPONG

CEO and Co-Founder

 

 

 

■Third Prize:

Award 500,000 JPY

Biomass Lab

Vietnam

QUAN DINH NGUYEN

Laboratory of Biofuel and Biomass Research

 

 

 


 

 

AEA Yunus Social Business Award


Not applicable

 

 

Fujitsu Accelerator Award 

-ScanSnap iX100

Award to the startup with the greatest potential to solve the issues facing society and Fujitsu customers in collaboration with Fujitsu’s business units and affiliated companies.

Smart Tag Inc.

Taiwan

KUN CHIEH CHANG

CEO

 

 

IP Bridge Award

Strategy building support for Intellectual property

Onikle Inc.

Japan

SUNAO TATENO

CEO and Co-Founder

 

■Life Science Award:

1. Support for scheduling 1on1 meeting with companies in LINK-J network during business trip to Japan and PR support at LINK-J website after consultation with LINK-J.
2.  Posting an interview article of the award-winning company on website of LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Net.
3. (Japanese startups only) One-year free membership of LINK-J

KURA Care Inc.

Taiwan

KAI-CHIEH YANG

CEO and Founder

 

 

Microsoft Award:

Coaching and Review of IoT system architecture on Azure by Cloud Solution Architect from Azure Tech Team, IoT Asia (Notes: The scope and period of support will be defined depending on the technical conditions and scenarios.)

Tectonus Limited

New Zeeland

KEANE LEE

Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder

 

 

■The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs(JASVE) Award:

Award 50,000 JPY

The award will be given by JASVE to the most challenging team in solving problems and which is full of entrepreneurship.

More Foods Innotech Co., Ltd.

Thailand

KANWRA TANACHOTEVORAPONG

CEO and Co-Founder

 

 

■Audience Prize:

Voted by audiences in final session

Peth Yoeung Healthtech

Combodia

LIMSAN PONG

CEO and Founder

 


2021 Nominators

ANTONIO M. DEL CARMEN – Philippines

Professor,
Ateneo de Manila University

ASAKO SAKURAI – Thailand

Vice President,
JETRO Bangkok

DON JYH-FU JENG – Taiwan

Chief Operating Officer,
Center for Industry Collaboration and Innovation Incubation, National Chengchi University

HUI KWOK LEONG – Singapore

Acting Director,
Ecosystem Development,
NUS Enterprise

JOSEPHINE CHAO – Taiwan

President,
Epoch Foundation (Garage+ Incubator)

KAZUNORI YAMADA – Bangladesh

Representative,
JETRO Dhaka

KELLY LI – China

Supervisor,
JETRO Hong Kong

KOKI ONO

Director,
JETRO Guangzhou

K SURESH KUMAR – India

Executive Director,
PSG-STEP

MAMORU MIYAWAKI – Japan

Director EDGENEXT,
The Univ. of Tokyo

MASATO TANAKAI – Singapore

SENIOR DIRECTOR,
JETRO Singapore

MIKE HANNA – New Zealand

Investment Manager,
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

MOHAD HAZMI MANSOR – Malaysia

Assistant Director,
JETRO KualaLumpur

NGUYEN THI HANH – Vietnam

Dr., Senior Lecturer,
Foreign Trade University

RUBESCH EDWARD JAMES – Thailand

Program Director,
IDE Center UTCC

RYOTA INOUE – Cambodia

Project Officer,
JETRO Phnom Penh

SALLY YAU – Singapore

Development Partner | Infrastructure Services,
Enterprise Singapore

SIVA RAMAMOORTHY – India

Mentor,
Derbi Foundation

TAKEHIKO FURUKAWA – India

Director General,
JETRO Ahmedabad

TASLIMARIF SAIYED – India

CEO and Director,
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru

TOSHIHIKO OUCHI – Japan

Professor,
University of Tsukuba

YULIA TOLKISHEVSKAYA – Russia

Head of International Projects,
Skolkovo Foundation

2021 Judge

Final Session Judges

Michael Alafant

Group Chairman and CEO,
Fusion Systems Japan

Shingo Kokudo

Chairman, Director
TX Entrepreneur Partners

Jesper Koll

Global Ambassador,
Monex Group Japan

Yasuhiko Yurimoto

CEO,
Global Brain Corporation

Jenna Lee

Director,
Asia Unified Edge & IoT Customer Success Unit,
Microsoft Corporation

Masako Egawa

Specially Appointed Professor,
Graduate School of Business Administration,
Hitotsubashi University
Semifinal Session Judges