Global Business Innovation Programme in Japan - Future Telecoms

Innovate UK invites applications from innovative companies that are focused on solutions in future telecoms, to participate in a GBIP to Japan.

Opportunity Details

When

Registration Opens

06/06/2024

Registration Closes

06/09/2024

Award

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation, in-market travel, and conference fees for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative. One representative from each company will be funded.

Organisation

Innovate UK

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Note: This opportunity is fully funded support and not monetary funding.

Future Telecoms is a key sector for the UK economy and offers exciting and significant growth opportunities for ambitious UK businesses. Japan is an international market where opportunities have been identified for UK businesses in the Future Telecoms sector.

Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) aims to help ambitious innovative UK businesses to grow and scale on a global stage through building R&D, innovation collaborations and partnerships. The 9-12 month programme consists of a get ready preparation stage, a five day tailored innovation visit to connect with key stakeholders and potential partners, and an exploit the opportunity stage to help you maximise the benefits of the programme and to grow and scale your business.

Throughout the whole programme, you will:

  • Have the support of an Innovate UK innovation and growth specialist
  • Explore opportunities and better understand the market
  • Find potential innovation partners and develop your network
  • Improve your company value proposition

Innovate UK is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and encourages people from all backgrounds to apply.

Find out how our GBIP Japan can help your business grow.

A recorded briefing is now available.

  • A GBIP has three stages:

    Prepare for the market

    Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

    Visiting the market

    Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

    Exploiting the opportunity

    Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

    The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

  • To apply for this initiative, you must:

    • Be a business focused on developing innovation solutions in future telecoms.
    • Be a UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise.
    • Be a company with fewer than 250 employees.
    • Be the CEO, founder, or a senior decision maker in the business able to attend and complete all activities.
  • Japan is the third largest economy in the world (by GDP) and has one of the highest R&D investment levels (R&D expenditure as a % GDP), producing some of the largest numbers of scientific publications and patents globally.

    The country is home to a large share of multinational corporations competing globally, with more than 200 companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list and has the third largest corporate R&D spending worldwide behind the United States and China.

    Japan is a long running partner of the UK in the Asia Pacific region. The UK and Japan have forged close links on telecoms and have signed a working agreement in 2022. Various Japanese companies have telecoms labs and a presence in the UK including NEC and Rakuten who recently opened an OpenRAN centre.

    We have common interests in the development of global telecommunication standards and strategy. Japan’s Beyond 5G Promotion Strategy focuses on enabling the country to maintain and develop its competitiveness as the world progresses towards 6G and beyond.

  • We invite applications from a wide range of innovative companies, that are focused on solutions in the following areas:

    • Standardisation
    • Advanced wireless / optical communications
    • Open RAN with a view to UK supply chain diversification
    • 6G preparedness and accelerated research on 6G
    • AI and Cybersecurity
  • To learn more about the programme, watch the recording of the applicant briefing from the 26th of June.

    Application form can be found here

    • Application deadline: Friday 6th September 2024 at 5pm.
    • Get ready workshop: Wednesday 16th & Thursday 17th October 2024
    • Visit the market: Saturday 16th – Saturday 23rd November 2024
    • Exploit the opportunity workshop: Wednesday 12th February 2025

    For enquiries, please contact event.enquiries1@innovateukedge.ukri.org

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