CONNECTING
JAPAN &THE NORDICS
Newsletter #7
October 16, 2020

Welcome to the Nordic Innovation Ecosystem newsletter #7
A few weeks ago IMD Singapore released its annual smart city index, ranking 109 urban areas according to their technological provisions within health, safety, mobility, activities, opportunities
and governance. The Nordics did well: Helsinki ranked # 2, Oslo # 5, Copenhagen # 6 and Stockholm # 16 (up from # 25 in 2019). In this newsletter, we take a closer look at Nordic smart city initiatives and the organizations driving this development.
But first, why do the Nordic capitals rank so prominently on the smart city index? At first glance,
the success may stem from the fact that Nordic stronghold technologies are extremely relevant
and easily adaptable to smart city initiatives, e.g. water and waste management, efficient energy
solutions, IoT and digitization.
However, the long Nordic tradition for community oriented approaches is probably more important, where universities, public authorities NGOs, and private enterprises all collaborate arounda triple helix model of innovation. One classic example is the high prevalence of Living Lab-projects in the Nordics where entrepreneurs develop, test and implement new solutions in real life
conditions provided by city municipalities, e.g. Energy Lab Nordhavn, DOLL; Space10, Hammarby
Sjöstad, Futurebuilt, Powerhouse alliance. These projects provide an ideal breeding ground forstartups and innovative solutions.
Also, the Nordic cities are increasingly working together to improve smart city initiatives, exchanging knowhow and sharing experiences. This spirit is reflected in the Nordic Smart City Network,
covering 20 Nordic cities (relevant contacts available on the website). For further information,
see this report by Nordic Innovation, on the shared practices that Nordic cities are using towards
sustainable urban futures.
In addition, all the Nordic countries have strong and dedicated smart city hubs. Smart City Sweden is a great entry point for anyone wanting insights into the Swedish smart city ecosystem,including a database of 743 companies working within this field.
In Copenhagen, BLOXHUB is the main hub for urban development. Check their website for a complete overview of the 400 small and large companies, organisations, research institutions andpublic bodies, that compromise the ecosystem.
In Finland, the Helsinki Business Hub has a particular focus on smart city development, as reflected in their recent newsletter, that provides good insights into why Helsinki is second only toSingapore as the world’s smartest city. Finally, Norway has been growing in prominence, with theirmain smart city hub, Nordic Edge, hosting a regional webinar on the topic late September.
On a grander scale, the Nordic focus on smarter cities reflects a global movement towards a newand more sustainable urban paradigm. Earlier this year, Toyota launched the Woven City, a grandvision for building a green field city at the base of Mount Fuji, that will serve as a home for 2000
Toyota employees and a Living Lab for technologies like robotics, smart homes, and artificial intelligence. The city will be designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels - just another example of themany venues for collaboration between the Nordics and Japan.
Feel free to contact us for more information on Nordic Smart City initiatives. We can connect you
to the right people.

SHORT NEWS FROM THE NORDICS

FI

Espoo-based Spacetech startup ICEEYE raises EUR 74 million to grow its satellite constellation. The series C round was led by return investor True Ventures.

DK

Danish robotics company, Shape Robotics, has signed a distribution agreement with Japanese KISSEI COMTECH, to provide Edtech solutions to primaryschools.

SEA Swedish Marinetech consortium consisting of KTH Royal Institute of Technology, maritime consultancy SSPA, and lead by ship designers Wallenius Marine have developed a wind powered car carrier with space for 7,000 vehicles
with a 90% reduction of emissions.

DK

The drone platform for testing and measuring satellite communication connectivity made by QuadSAT announced EUR 2 million in their last fundraisinground.

NOCrayoNano has raised almost EUR 12 million for their UV LED technology thatkills bacterias and viruses.

SE

The electric aircraft maker, Heart Aerospace has demoed its new battery technology for their 19-seater electric planes.

NO

ONNA, the vertical farming company raised EUR 4.6 million from Altitude Capital and others.

INTERVIEW WITH STARTUP NORWAY

How does your organisation support theNordic ecosystem? Startup Norway supports
the Nordic ecosystem primarily with events,workshops and content. I am responsible for theyearly event in June, called Startup Extreme.
An exclusive invite only event for Nordic andInternational investors and founders, to comeintroduce themselves to the Norwegian ecosystem. It is an alternative type of tech summit,
where leading investors and founders come tothe outdoor adventure capital of Norway, Voss.
The participants network while doing outdoor
extreme sport activities together such as skydiving, white water rafting, and other outdoor
activities.
Why is the Japanese innovation ecosystem
and market interesting for the Nordics?
Japanese has always had an affinity for Nordic
culture, consumer brands and products. For
some years we have observed a rising trendof promising Nordic smaller consumer brands
tapping into the Japanese market with succes,
such as the Norwegian coffee brand Fuglen.
In parallel, the Japanese are showing more interest in Nordic tech companies, as more investments are flowing to the region’s startups
and entering the Japanese market. The Nordic
ecosystem should prioritize to proactively approach and create more awareness about theJapanese ecosystem. There are already Nordic
startups operating in Japan and we are only
seeing the tip of the iceberg, as more globally
recognized Nordic startups, such as Wolt enters the Japanese market, more will follow suit.

Name:		Björn Lapakko

Position: 		

Head of Startup Extreme

Organisation:		

Startup Norway

Ecosystem location:

Oslo, Norway

Contact:

lapakko@startupnorway.com

What are the main barriers for Nordic techcompanies and investors to enter the Japanese market? Having a good accountant andlawyer when entering the Japanese market isone of the biggest structural barriers. When it
comes to language and culture, my perception
is that it is good to stay true to your own culture. While companies adapt their products locally when expanding to new markets, the Nordic brand thrives on the curiosity and interestof the Japanese. Therefore, the Nordic companies should also remember that this is part oftheir product, when they are offering it to Japanese customers or partners.
What type of Japanese, companies and investors would you like to reach out to?
Connecting Japanese and Nordic investors
is something I am quite interested in moving
forward with, as I have experienced a gradualinterest from Nordic investors. Additionally, itwould be interesting to make a pop-up Startup
Extreme event in Japan, so it would be great toconnect with Japanese ecosystem community builders, local governments and prefecturaldecision makers.

BULLETIN BOARDJOB OPENING

Silicon Valley-founded Pie Systems is searching for a Senior Business Developer to join their new team in Japan. Pie Systems is a fully digital endto-end VAT refund system, whose HQ is located in Copenhagen at the moment.

EVENT

19-21 October, Arctic 15 - A Finnish-based, internationally focused matchmaking event for startups, investors, corporates, media and influencers.
20 October, Nordea Investor Speed Dating 2020 - a matchmaking event
bringing together investors and high growth, early stage companies.

EDITORSPeter Johansen
Project Manager
pj@asia-house.dk
Julian Morié Hara Nielsen
Japanese Consultant
jni@techbbq.org

Innovation Lab Asia is a project collaboration
between Asia House and TechBBQ funded by
the Danish Industry Foundation.
For more information:

OUR REPORTS

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Indiakaj 16, Copenhagen|www.innovationlabasia.dk|

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