On April 1-3, 2019, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada was proud to lead, with strong support from the private and public sectors, Canada’s first women-only business mission to Asia. The mission was a response to one of the key recommendations emanating from the Foundation’s country-wide dialogue series, "Women2Women in the Asia Pacific."
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Mission Details:
WHERE: Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan
WHAT: The first 2 days of the Mission were held in Tokyo at the Canadian Embassy and consisted of business-to-business matching and network opportunities, industry site visits, and high-level discussions of women’s economic advancement strategies in Canada and Japan. The 3rd day was hosted at the Kyoto Women's University, in Japan’s ancient capital and cultural mecca.
WHEN: April 1-3, 2019
WHO: This exciting mission offered opportunities to 17 women-identifying entrepreneurs (founders, CEOs or leaders of Canadian businesses) looking to grow their businesses in Japan.
Participating businesses had to have demonstrated their potential to succeed in Asia and their export-readiness by having:
- conducted research on foreign markets and opportunities;
- appointed resources (human, material, time and financial) dedicated to internationalization,
- and developed a credible business plan.
WHY: Japan, a stable and democratic nation and the third largest economy in the world, has been – and continues to be – one of Canada's oldest and most reliable trading partners in Asia. Japan has in recent years instituted a suite of public policy initiatives to promote women’s economic advancement called ‘Womenomics.’
The mission was concentrated on promoting women-led or -founded companies that provide services, products, and solutions for the elderly and aging in Japan. Japan has the highest proportion of elderly in the world and highly-developed markets for eldercare services and products.
FOCUS: The mission focused on 3 sectors that support eldercare:
- Technologies, both software and hardware, supporting eldercare
- Services to help the elderly, including personal care, health and long-term care, financial, other social and entertainment services
- Consumer Products that will facilitate or improve daily living for the elderly
For Mission inquiries, please contact:
A.W. Lee, PhD
Program Manager
Diversity and Inclusive Growth Strategy for
Women Entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Toronto
205-375 University Ave.
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M5G 2J5
a.w.lee@asiapacific.ca
