JMEC Business Plans Offer Foreign Firms A Competitive Edge

November 4, 2009—At a time of economic uncertainty the world over, corporations are competing more than ever to find the best employees and the best ideas to help them excel in the marketplace. The Japan Market Expansion Competition (JMEC) creates an ideal situation to do just that.

A non-profit organization started in 1993 by the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan, and now supported by 12 foreign chambers of commerce, JMEC matches teams of mid-career professionals to the strategic aims of foreign companies doing business in Japan.

The objectives of JMEC are two-fold: first, to provide business training for individuals living and working in Japan, and second, to foster the expansion of foreign business in Japan. JMEC achieves these objectives by providing a comprehensive lecture series for the individuals (participants) on doing business in Japan and writing a business plan, and then putting them onto teams to write business plans for companies (project clients) looking to enter or expand into the Japanese market. JMEC is able to keep costs to both individuals and companies low because of the generous support of corporate sponsors in the local business community. The cost for individuals to take part in the training is ￥100,000, and for companies to receive a quality business plan the cost is ￥990,000.

The 16th JMEC training program will commence this month, with 60 highly qualified individuals already selected to take part. There is still time, however, for companies interested in having a group of energetic business minds working on a plan for their endeavors in the Japanese market.

Project clients receive the following benefits:

• A comprehensive business plan addressing specific objectives in the Japanese market, and ready to implement from the time the client receives it in May.
• A JMEC team of five or six pre-trained professionals who work on researching and writing their client's plan, bringing cultural and professional diversity to the project, as each draws upon his or her own experience and expertise to add unique insight to the business plan.
• A fresh perspective on the client's business challenges, unconstrained by in-house limitations or politics.
• Input from senior members of the business community who act as mentors and consultants to oversee the JMEC teams as they research and write the business plans for their clients.
• A valuable service at a reasonable cost. A JMEC business plan is a fraction of that charged by outside consultants, whose fees are upwards of U.S.$200 per hour for such services. At an average of 1,200 hours spent on each JMEC plan, the cost per hour computes to roughly U.S.$8 per hour.

To learn more, please contact Laura Loy, Program Director, at info@jmec.gr.jp or (03) 5562-1444. The deadline for project clients to apply this year is November 27.