On September 13, 2023, UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, in cooperation with the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, organized a hybrid event “STePP Forum: Collaboration among STePP Technologies” inviting Japanese companies that have registered their technologies in the UNIDO ITPO Tokyo’s Sustainable Technology Promotion Platform (STePP).
This platform, which began in 2015 as the Environmental Technology Database (ETDB), was renamed the Sustainable Technology Promotion Platform (STePP) in April 2019 and expanded to cover more technologies, with five categories: energy, environment, agribusiness, human health, and disaster management. As of September 2023, 142 technologies from 122 Japanese companies have been registered in the STePP.
This event was the first attempt to examine and discuss the possibilities for collaboration among the Japanese technologies registered in the STePP. Participants at the event included 44 people from private companies that have registered their technologies in the STePP, as well as related public organizations.
At the beginning of the forum, Ms. Fumio Adachi, head of UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, reported that the number of registered STePP technologies has been increasing recently, and that the STePP Demonstration Project was implemented in 12 Asian and African countries using those technologies to fight against infectious diseases such as the COVID-19. She then emphasized that UNIDO ITPO Tokyo would like to promote technology collaboration among companies in the future, saying, “By combining multiple technologies and proposing them to developing countries, it will be easier for developing countries to adopt them and have more impact in solving their problems.”
The following five STePP companies presented the examples of STePP-registered technology transfers to developing countries:
- Sumino Co., LTD: “Receiving orders from overseas through STePP”
- CHUWA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.: “Challenges of waste management in Africa”
- Tromso Co., Ltd.: “Rural decarbonization business and cross-industry collaboration”
- NISHIMURA MACHINE WORKS CO., LTD.: “Case studies related to rural villages and agribusiness”
- HINODE SANGYO Co. LTD.: “Effects of accepting foreign students from Africa”
In addition, Ms. Chiaki Tsubouchi of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation presented cases of collaboration between EU and Japanese companies on the theme of “Partnerships with EU companies in Africa,” including a business that uses drones and AI to fight against malaria and a drinking water sharing business in Kenya. Moreover, she encouraged participants to explore possibilities for collaboration with EU companies in various areas such as infrastructure, energy & transition to green, digital transformation (DX), and public-private partnerships.
Afterwards, Mr. Marin Mizuno, Project Manager of the Agribusiness Department, UNIDO Headquarters, and Mr. Fabrizio Mura of EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, joined the panel session along with the five companies that presented their cases. The participants actively exchanged opinions and explored the possibilities of STePP technology collaboration in rice-growing regions and waste management. The seminar concluded with a letter of appreciation from UNIDO ITPO Tokyo to the three speakers, CHUWA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD., HINODE SANGYO Co. LTD., and Tromso Co., Ltd. for their contributions to the STePP Demonstration Project to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
