Regional Meeting for Supporting Start-Ups in Africa: Seminar on IP Support to Startups in Africa and One-on-One Meetings
March 27, 2020
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), teamed with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), held a Seminar on IP Support to Startups in Africa and one-on-one meetings from February 18 to 20, 2020, under the Funds-in-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global.
The principal goal was to provide intellectual property (IP)-based support measures to African startups by bringing together representatives of governmental organizations1 and startups2 in Africa.
About the seminar
From February 18 to 19, the JPO held a Seminar on IP Support to Startups in Africa, with the primary goal of sharing recognition of the importance of IP for startups and also to contribute to planning measures for supporting startups and SMEs in African countries.
On the first day of the event, the JPO explained its measures targeting governmental organizations and startups in Africa. Then on the second day, a brief of best practices of leading startups taking advantage of IP was provided which included case examples of startup support measures with a focus on governmental organizations in Africa.
One-on-one meetings
From February 19 to 20, JETRO held a business seminar and one-on-one meetings, with the intention of matching Japanese companies that desire to develop businesses, to include startups, in Africa.
