The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has announced that they are welcoming 105 Japanese startups to the 2024 cohort of the Global Startup Acceleration Program (GSAP). This program was founded in 2020 by JETRO, the Government of Japan’s Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), with the intention of supporting the overseas expansion of Japanese startups. With the addition of these 105 startups, the total number of startups participating in GSAP has officially exceeded 500 companies.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240910306813/en/

JETRO collaborates with top tech accelerators to host 6 different specialized courses for GSAP 2024 cohort of 100+ Japanese startups. (Photo: Business Wire)

In this program, JETRO collaborates with multiple world-renowned accelerators with extensive, proven track records of unicorn creation, designing different specialized courses with those accelerators, and sorting participating startups into one of six unique courses depending on their field/industry or stage of development.

JETRO has collaborated with world-renowned accelerators AlchemistX and Berkeley SkyDeck for GSAP over the last four years. This year for the first time, JETRO is also partnering with StartX - the startup accelerator, fellowship, and community for Stanford students, founders, and alumni. They will also be joined by Michigan-based Industry 4.0 Accelerator and Silicon Valley-based Ensanté. JETRO is also launching four new courses, including a 6-month long-term program aimed at helping established former GSAP startups gain further traction in the U.S. market.

The four newly established courses are:

  • B2B Commercial Traction Course – aimed at achieving concrete results and closing deals for companies ready to enter the U.S. market; conducted by AlchemistX
  • AI/Sustainability Course – conducted with StartX; leveraging the expertise and resources available in the StartX community
  • BioTech/MedTech Course – conducted by Ensanté; hosted at UC Berkeley and QB3’s BakarLabs incubator
  • Manufacturing Tech Course – conducted by Michigan-based accelerator Industry 4.0

In addition to these four new courses, JETRO will also offer the B2B Market Discovery Course and Deep Tech Course again this year. The B2B Market Discovery Course will once again be led by AlchemistX, while the Deep Tech Course will again be organized by Berkeley SkyDeck.

Full list of participating startups by course

The program will be conducted in a hybrid format (online and on-site) through March 2025. Participation is free. The program will feature business and strategy lectures, face-to-face bootcamps, interviews with potential business partners and investors, 1-on-1 mentoring, on-site programs, and demo days. Some courses will also have startups participate in overseas exhibitions, providing them with an opportunity to build a stronger network and connect with overseas investors.

For more information about GSAP and the six courses, please visit: https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/startup/acceleration/gsap.html

About JETRO

JETRO is the Japanese government agency responsible for promoting trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. JETRO provides support and assistance to American companies entering the Japanese market and to Japanese companies expanding overseas. JETRO was established in 1958 and has more than 70 offices around the world, including six offices in the USA. JETRO provides a wide range of services, including timely market intelligence, extensive business development support, and relevant business events, all designed to encourage business partnerships between American companies and Japan.

For inquiries about GSAP, please contact: Will Ferguson JETRO San Francisco startup2@jetro.go.jp