Having established and operated a successful accelerator in Taiwan for five years, CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator is now planning on setting up a presence in Japan by the end of this year to assist Taiwan start-ups.
As a first step in building a regional venture ecosystem for CDIB Capital Group, CDIB Innovation Tokyo Hub aims to help young Taiwanese enterprises access the Japanese market, in line with Taiwan’s National Development Council (“NDC”) policy.
This month, NDC will be leading a consortium of Taiwanese enterprises to attend the “Together, Go Big” conference in Tokyo and introduce some of Taiwan’s most promising start-ups to the Japanese market. CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator has also been invited to attend the event.
CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator President Ryan Kuo said that many start-ups in Taiwan have already laid solid foundations and honed their ability to respond to rapidly changing market demands. This is especially true after meeting the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.
CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator has been successfully operating in Taipei City’s Nangang Software Park for five years, organizing many physical and online events and providing a wide range of services to start-ups, such as mentorship and professional courses. This paves the way for CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator to become the premier platform for value-add investments in new ventures.
In terms of scaling up operations and expand overseas, CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator portfolio companies are looking to tap into Japan because of its large potential. Taiwan’s geographical proximity to Japan and the diversity of new ventures are also among the reasons why Taiwanese start-ups are positive on the Japanese market.
CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator’s new office project in Japan has already received significant interest from its portfolio companies, who plan to use CDIB’s infrastructure as a launch pad into Japan. The portfolio companies can get off the ground in Japan smoothly and overcome the challenges associated with expanding into new markets, ranging from finance and legal affairs to recruitment, business development, office set-up, and attending Taiwan-Japan industry gatherings with initial focus on digital transformation.
To create an ecosystem, the CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator Fund also considers investing in Japanese start-ups that are strategically aligned with Taiwan's start-up scene. This leads to more alliances between Taiwanese and Japanese start-ups, as well as upstream and downstream industries.
With the assistance of Line Corp in Japan as a strategic local partner, CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator is prepared to collaborate with companies in sectors such as travel, artificial intelligence, and fintech. New ventures will have access to the accelerator is resources to help build their businesses and engage in creative dialogue that develops a comprehensive and leading international start-up ecosystem.
