The first RAMEN TECH was held with a great success!

Fukuoka City held its first international business matching event “RAMEN TECH -Revolutionizing Asia: Merging Ecosystems & Networks Tech-” on October 9 and 10 at Fukuoka Daimyo Garden City!

Taking advantage of the domestic and international connections that the public and private sectors have built over the past 12 years since the declaration of Fukuoka as a “Startup City,” many startup companies, supporters, investors, and others from not only Fukuoka City but also from other parts of Japan and abroad participated in the event. The event was a great success, filled with enthusiasm and energy from start to finish.

The event featured a wide variety of programs, including pitch competitions, booth exhibits, business matchings, and networking. The event provided a foothold for startups from Japan and abroad to enter the global market, and was a valuable opportunity to expand the possibilities for business collaboration and innovation creation.

The two-day event was a memorable event that demonstrated Fukuoka City's position as a global innovation hub and a base for pioneering the future together with startups.

Outline of RAMEN TECH

Main Program

Pitch Competition "Asia Next Unicorn Award"

In this competition, 84 startups from 18 countries and regions competed for the first prize, and the Taiwanese startup 『CancerFree Biotech』, which develops personalized cancer drug testing technology, was crowned the winner!

　　

＜Special Award＞
・ICHIRAN AWARD：　Accredify　（Singapore）

 

・FUKUOKA　AWARD：　ANIWARE　（Hong Kong)

 

＜Semi-finalist＞

 

＜Judges＞

 

Special Program "Asia Startup Ecosystem Summit"

Over 20 VCs, accelerators, and government agencies from 6 Asian countries and regions, as well as the U.S. and Finland, gathered for sessions on the following 5 themes.
１）How to create the next unicorn from Asia
２）What Asian startups do VCs want to invest in?
３）How foreign startups can achieve investment and collaboration in Japan
４）To create collaboration between Asian ecosystems
５）How to create deep tech startups from universities

　

Mayor Takashima delivered a strong message to the participants to work together to build a startup ecosystem in Asia. At the end of the session, a commemorative photo was taken together with overseas VCs, overseas startups, and universities and other research institutions from Japan and overseas for future cooperation.

　
 

Talk Sessions

20 sessions were conducted, including sessions in English.

　

RAMEN TECH Special Session “Opening up the future of Fukuoka! New innovations drawn from a global perspective and an open mind” featured heated discussions from the perspectives of startups, supporters, and local governments on the current state of entrepreneurs in Japan compared to the rest of the world, keys to the growth of the startup ecosystem, and other topics.
＜Panelists＞

Norihiko Sasaki (CEO, PIVOT, Inc.)

Jesper Koll (Global Ambassador, Monex Group)

Takaaki Umezawa (Chairman, CIC Japan)

Satoko Suzuki (Communication Design Officer, for Startups, Inc.)

Nana Hori (CEO, Tensor Energy Inc.)
Soichiro Takashima (Mayor, Fukuoka City)

　
 

Business Matching

During the event, startups, business companies, and VCs from Japan and abroad engaged in lively business discussions both inside and outside the venue. As a result of these activities, concrete results were quickly achieved, such as the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration among companies from Taiwan, Fukuoka, and Tokyo.

 

＜Examples of Achivements＞

　MoU between companies from Taiwan, Fukuoka City, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government

　　Companies signed the MoU

　　　Hakobune Inc. （Head Office: Fukuoka City）

　　　IHH Co,Ltd （Head Office: Taiwan）

　　　AZIO JAPAN G.K.　（Head office: Tokyo）

　　Outline of the MoU

Next generation solution integrating surveillance cameras, edge AI analysis, and digital signage with P2P technology at its core.

The three companies have agreed to sign an MoU on “Okuma APP” and work together to develop the Japanese market.

As a first step, a demonstration experiment (PoC) will be conducted at a Christmas event to be held in Fukuoka City from December 2 to 4.

If you have any cases in which RAMEN TECH has led to fundraising or collaboration, we would be happy to introduce them on this page, so please feel free to contact us at the contact information at the bottom of this page.

RAMEN Content

A variety of RAMEN content unique to RAMEN TECH was also available at the venue!

Four of Fukuoka's leading ramen shops and food stalls (Hakata Daruma, Buta Soba Tsukiya, Yatai no Tamachan, and Ramen Hayakawa) opened stalls at the venue to offer visitors an authentic taste of ramen. As an event that could be casually enjoyed not only by those involved in the startup industry, but also by the general public, many visitors experienced a new kind of startup event with the aroma of ramen.

　　

We also received sponsorship from companies in the ramen industry. MARUTAI CO.,LTD. contributed stick ramen for participants at the eve of the event, and ICHIRAN INC. presented a corporate prize for the pitch competition, which greatly contributed to the atmosphere of the event.

 

Images of the Event

　　
　　
　　
　　
　　
　　

Streaming

Wednesday, October 9

　Daimyo Garden City Main Stage

　Daimyo Conference

Thursday, October 10

　Daimyo Garden City Main Stage

　Daimyo Conference

Contacts

　Global Startup Support, Startup Promotion Department,

  Economy, Tourism and Culture Bureau, Fukuoka City Government
　TEL：092-711-4706
　Email：globalstartup@city.fukuoka.lg.jp