During the first half of 2026, our encognize G.K. Cross‑Border Innovation Partner Team, Brian and Bruno, continued to advance our mission of enabling global innovators to successfully navigate and validate opportunities in the Japanese market.
Through close collaboration with innovation ecosystem partners and hands‑on support to international startups, we delivered a diverse set of engagements designed to accelerate cross‑border expansion.
Key activities included:

• Joining in-person gathering with startups from South Korea, Thailand, and the broader APAC region as part of the Fukuoka Prefecture cross-border programme operated by Plug and Play Japan. Ahead of their market exploration trip, the startups and scale-ups were provided a tailored Japan market-entry briefing highlighting Fukuoka’s industrial landscape and key stakeholders to engage with.
• Delivery of a market briefing to Dutch startups visiting Kyoto as part of the Kyoto International Startup Nexus initiative. (more about the event here -Japanese only-)
• Presentation on the future of Japan’s startup ecosystem to global young entrepreneurs participating in the Japan Youth Summit 2026. (more about the presentation here)
• Interviews and hearing sessions of railroad operators and mobility solution providers at the Mass-Trans Innovation Japan Osaka 2026 to validate and fine tune business use cases around 「Inbound Tourism × Mobility DX」 in regional Japan.
• Delivery of a practical, recommendation-focused webinar for overseas companies seeking to enter the Japanese market, covering key considerations, common pitfalls, and actionable next steps, an initiative led by IBPC Osaka (International Business Promotion Centre OSAKA) and Invest Osaka.

As we enter the second semester of 2026, we will continue strengthening our support for innovators worldwide, with a particular focus on Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Korea. Our commitment remains unchanged: helping global companies turn cross-border ambition into measurable market traction.

As we welcome 2026, we step into a new year filled with renewed possibility.
The global landscape continues to shift at remarkable speed: technologies evolve, markets realign, and societies face challenges that demand bold, collaborative solutions.

Amid this momentum, one truth stands out: innovation has never been more essential, nor more global. Cross‑border expansion is no longer just a pathway for business growth but also a means to ensure progress is shared, communities are strengthened, and new systems take shape for a better future.

In 2026, we reaffirm our mission to help innovators navigate cross-border expansion complexity with clarity, agility, and purpose. Whether it’s crafting and executing culturally resonant market strategies, forging commercial engagements, or building strategic partnerships, we remain dedicated to enabling companies to spread their innovative products, solutions or services internationally and create net‑positive impact wherever they operate.

Together, let’s build a brighter and more inclusive future.
Happy New Year 2026.
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Bruno & Brian
encognize G.K. Cross-Border Innovation Partners

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on how far we’ve advanced the frontier of cross‑border innovation together.

Even amid a global VUCA landscape, APAC continued to stand out as a compelling destination for innovators pursuing regional or global growth. This year, we had the privilege of supporting 35 pioneering companies from 8 European and Asian countries, through both government‑backed programs and tailored fractional support, as they navigated their expansion journeys. Japan and ASEAN once again emerged as top destinations for ambitious founders looking to scale.

Two‑thirds of the companies we engaged with this year were focused on building an initial understanding of their target markets. We supported them through strategic market entry preparation, combining contextual and industry‑specific insights delivery, GTM assumption and hypothesis development, and organization‑level stakeholder mapping, with on‑the‑ground exploration and validation through targeted meetings.

Another 11 companies had already pre‑validated their target markets and partnered with us to de‑risk and accelerate their entry. Through deeper, higher‑intensity engagements with several of them, we helped deliver tangible outcomes within 3 to 6 months, ranging from identifying business, technological, and commercial partners to finding validation projects.

We extend our sincere thanks to the many startups, scale‑ups, corporations, and government organizations that entrusted us throughout 2025 to support their international expansion and innovation journeys.

We look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of global innovation together in 2026.

Bruno & Brian
encognize G.K. Cross-Border Innovation Partners