The ASEAN-Japan Centre organized a business event consisting of seminar, business meeting and networking in Indonesia on 18 – 20 February 2025. The event was organized with the purpose of promoting investment in environmental-related businesses between Japan – Indonesia, as well as Japan – ASEAN Member States.
Exploring collaborative opportunities between Japanese and Indonesian Companies
“Indonesia – Japan Blue and Green Business Matchmaking”
The Centre organized a business event titled “Indonesia – Japan Blue and Green Business Matchmaking”, jointly with the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia on 18 February 2025, targeting on environment related companies in Indonesia. Japanese companies having innovative technologies in waste management, resource recycling and organic waste composting delivered presentations to introduce their businesses and potentials to collaborate with Indonesian companies. These Japanese companies are strongly eager how their technologies can contribute to resource circulation and decarbonization in Indonesia and the ASEAN region. After the presentations, one-on-one discussions including the Q&A session were also conducted to foster business networkings and seek future collaborations between Indonesian and Japanese companies. The event attracted about 60 participants.
Along with the Circular, Blue and Green Economy, which is the main topic of the event, the upcycled and reused products, as well as products remade from waste materials in the manufacturing process, selected by the Ministry of Commerce of Indonesia, were showcased at the venue. It proved to be a good opportunity to highlight the export potential of Indonesian products to Japan’s sustainable product market.
Participation in business meetings at the ASEAN Blue Innovative Expo and Business Matching
The Japanese experts and companies joined the “ASEAN Blue Innovative Expo and Business Matching” event, co-organized by UNDP Indonesia, ASEAN Secretariat and the Japanese government on 19 February 2025 in Jakarta. They participated in business pitches and matchings at the booths by selected 60 start-ups and SMEs from ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste under the project of ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge, seeking opportunities for collaboration to challenge and resolve environmental issues in ASEAN by their innovative and unique technologies.
Technical visits
The technical visits to Indonesian companies related to the Blue and Green businesses were arranged by the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia on 20 February 2025. The visits provided valuable opportunities to explore the possibilities of technical exchanges and future collaborations between Japan and Indonesia to achieve the Circular Economy, especially in the technology of producing fertilizer from black soldier flies and manufacturing biochar from grains.
Key takeaways
While overseas travel from Japan is now recovering, this project reaffirmed the importance of face-to-face connections to develop sustainable business linkages between Japan, Indonesia, and ASEAN. The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia expressed that “More opportunities for business linkages between Japanese and Indonesian companies”.
- The event provided valuable opportunities for information exchange and showcasing unique technologies.
- Reaffirmed the effectiveness of face-to-face business discussions and booth tours
- Gained deeper understanding of the technical standards and needs in environmental business in Indonesia and ASEAN. It was a fruitful occasion to explore the potential of long-term business opportunities.
- The timely selection of themes proved useful, emphasizing the continuing importance of solving issues through public-private collaboration and sharing successful case studies.
- Participation from both government and private sectors of Japan, Indonesia, and ASEAN member states fostered a strong sense of potential for future cooperation.
Way forward
The ASEAN – Japan Centre will continuously move forward with follow-up activities on the connections made through this project, to create sustainable business partnerships and co-creation relationships between innovative Japanese companies and the companies in Indonesia and other ASEAN member states.
