Bilateral Cooperation between Japan and Bavaria: Advanced Telecommunication Research Institute International (ATR) and Invest in Bavaria sign MoU

Due to the long-standing cooperation and close relationship between ATR and Bavaria’s Japanese foreign representative office as a result of the KGAP+(Keihanna Global Acceleration Program Plus) programme, ATR expressed the wish to officially recognize Invest in Bavaria as a strategic partner for long-term collaboration. 

Bavarian start-ups that took part in the KGAP+ programme, for example ProGlove, Kinexon GmbH, Twaice Technologies GmbH and DyeMansion GmbH have already benefited from this collaboration. KGAP+ was launched in 2019 by ATR with the aim of helping start-ups find partners in Japan. 96 start-ups from eleven countries are currently being supported by the programme. ATR’s key partners are Canada, India, Israel, New York and Barcelona. This demonstrates that ATR is an ideal partner for tapping into the Japanese market, especially for young and dynamic companies in the tech sector. 

Start-ups in particular benefit from the collaboration

An MoU offers many advantages here: interregional synergies are easier to identify and tap into. As a result, Invest in Bavaria can help start-ups from abroad to gain a foothold in Bavaria through the Ois Easy programme. Participants are recruited for this through KGAP+. The Keihanna Open Global Service Platform for Accelerated Co-Innovation (KOSAINN) collects challenges from Japanese companies, for which solutions are then sought through the strategic partners. When Bavarian expertise can contribute to solving a problem for a Japanese company, this has positive effects – not just for the company, but also for Bavaria as a centre of innovation.

ATR benefits from the partnership with Invest in Bavaria due to…

• the diverse ecosystem with both local and international players
• renowned universities, research institutions, VCs, etc.
• the large number of business incubators spread throughout Bavaria and focusing on a wide variety of industries
• cross-industry innovation, for which Bavaria offers the best conditions: access to talent, global perspectives, effective networks and a diverse business landscape
• Bavaria is already a business partner to other strategic Keihanna partner regions (e.g. Quebec, India, Israel, UK) and has its own representative offices there, like in Japan

The MoU is ideal for intensifying the partnership and thus driving cross-border collaboration and synergy effects.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed in the presence of the Bavarian Representative in Japan, Dr Christian Geltinger, the Managing Director of BayStartUP, Dr Carsten Rudolph, the Head of Unit Bavarian Start-Up Policy, Gründerland Bayern initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr Christoph Pfaff, Executive Vice President (ATR), Dr Hiroyuki Suzuki and Executive Director of Invest in Bavaria, Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ms Gudrun Weidmann includes the following intentions: 

• To improve Japanese and Bavarian competitiveness through collaboration in the fields of technological innovation, industrial research and development
• To develop and strengthen economic and commercial collaboration between Bavaria and Japan
• To mutually recognise that the challenges of stimulating innovation and economic growth are important to both parties
• To recognise the mutual interest in progress in the field of technological innovation, industrial research and development and the resulting benefits for both sides 
• To jointly strive to promote and support collaboration in the field of innovation between enterprises, corporations or other entities from Bavaria and Japan

Invest in Bavaria is looking forward to an even closer cooperation in the future.