JMEC Honors Winning Business Plans

PRESS RELEASE

JMEC Honors Winning Business Plans
Top teams at the 27th annual competition recognized by panel of judges

June 16, 2021 (Tokyo)—The Japan Market Expansion Competition (JMEC) revealed the winners of its 27th program in an online awards ceremony held on June 9, 2021.

The ceremony recognized the work of 47 participants from 13 different countries. About the efforts of this year’s cohort, JMEC Executive Committee Chairman Tom Whitson said: “JMEC 27 was challenged by the national state of emergency due to the pandemic. Teams had to change the way they researched and interacted to develop their business plans. But they succeeded! I want to congratulate all the participants for their dedication.

“The plans showed perceptive analysis and creative ideas to help our project clients. You have all truly earned your certificates as graduates of our JMEC business training program. On behalf of the JMEC team, I want to thank the companies that sponsored projects and to the lecturers, judges, team mentors and consultants who gave up days of their time to make this program a success.”

Nine project clients—including small and medium-sized enterprises, private clubs, and global companies—commissioned customized business plans from JMEC, at a very reasonable price. Some of the most successful foreign and Japanese business leaders in Japan then trained, mentored, and advised participants to develop and present the plans to four senior JMEC judges.

More than 100 people attended the JMEC Awards Ceremony via Zoom, and it was a lively affair punctuated by enthusiastic applause and cheers for the prize-winning teams.

The Top Three Prize Winners

JMEC Team 2 won the first prize with their business plan for Regemat 3D, a Spanish biotech company that is focused on regenerative medicine, particularly through the use of 3D printing.

Team 9 took second prize with a plan for Ipsos Healthcare Japan, a company that provides data and market insights for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies. Ipsos Healthcare Japan President William Hall commented: "The Ipsos Healthcare project was a complex one—requiring an understanding of medical treatment algorithms for various rare diseases as well as coming to grips with specialized proprietary market research methodologies. None of the team members had expertise in either of these fields, but, by dint of hard work and good teamwork, the final plan demonstrated that the team had really grasped the intent of the project and delivered a business plan that was impressive enough to win second prize in the competition."

Team 4 was awarded third prize, having created a business plan for Origio Japan, a leading global in-vitro fertilization company. President Klaus Jacobsen said: “During the course of the program I was extremely impressed by the enthusiasm and energy all team members put into the project. This, combined with their solid theoretical foundation, resulted in a report much above my expectations!”

Special Mention Awards

Three other teams received special mention awards from the judging panel to recognize outstanding efforts.

Team 3 won the Best Presentation Award for their clear communication and ability to field tough questions from the judges during their presentation for Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan, Inc.

Team 5 was given the Best Market Research Award for their impressive and thorough market research efforts on behalf of their client, SignTime.com, which provides e-signature services for digital documents. In fact, their market research led them to recommend that their client enter the Japanese market with a somewhat different approach and strategy than originally envisaged.

Team 8 received the Best “Deep Dive” Award with a new business growth project for Coloplast, a global medical equipment company headquartered in Denmark. President of Coloplast Japan Stefan Jakobsen said: “We were impressed with the level of detail in the product solution the team proposed to us. They had spent a lot of time to investigate options and discuss with experts—and the result was beyond my expectations as a project client.”

The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation (EUJC) in Tokyo sponsored two of the projects in the JMEC 27 competition under their Keys to Japan program. Team Leader Fabrizio Mura of the EUJC said this about their projects: “The Keys to Japan project wishes to extend a big THANK YOU to the organizers of JMEC for their resilience and commitment to go through with JMEC 27, and we are truly grateful to the JMEC teams for their exemplary leadership and energy to pull off business plans in full virtual mode – well done!”

JMEC Prizes

The first-prize winners won Finnair flight tickets to Europe, the second-prize winners won Hewlett Packard laptop PCs, and the third-prize winners received German brand BREE travel bags provided by JMEC sponsor Endeavor SBC.

About JMEC

Founded in 1993 by the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan, JMEC is a non-profit business planning skills–development training program supported by 18 foreign chambers of commerce in Japan. Over the past 27 years, JMEC has trained

more than 1,400 young business professionals, many of whom have gone on to rise in their companies or start their own businesses.

Built around a business plan competition, JMEC provides classroom training followed by hands-on experience for up-and-coming managers living and working in Japan. To date, JMEC has provided 274 high-quality business plans to help companies enter or expand in the Japanese market.

JMEC is internationally accredited by Pearson PLC—the world’s largest learning company —as a Pearson Assured certified organization. Pearson Assured is an independent certification and international quality benchmark for organizations that design and deliver their own learning programs.

JMEC 28

The JMEC 28 program starts on September 1 with the first of a series of information sessions for potential participants, attended by JMEC staff and alumni. Program lectures commence on November 13, 2021. See the JMEC website for information session details.

JMEC: www.jmec.gr.jp

Media enquiries:

Simon Farrell
Custom Media 03-4540-7730 simon@custom-media.com

General enquiries:

Trond Varlid
JMEC Program Director 080-4368-2025 info@jmec.gr.jp