As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many companies and startups around the world, Natural Machines from Spain, an innovative kitchen solution, providing a 3D food printer to improve kitchen efficiency and lower food waste, and Enroute from Israel, a location-based commerce platform to link mobility services, e-commerce and passengers together, have been adapting to the new landscape and keeping their projects going, ready for a post-COVID-19 world.
Commenting on the development, Emilio Sepulveda, CEO and Co-founder of Natural Machines in a statement quoted,
“The pandemic has been both a big threat and an opportunity. Business has slowed down, which pushed us to adopt some measures to reduce costs and accelerate reaching the breakeven point, while working on a strategy to grow faster as soon as we get out of this situation. That means making tough decisions and having a very clear direction for the company. Due to the global situation we see Asia-Pacific becoming the growth focus for us in the following months/years, and we are putting our intent there.”
On the other hand, Aviv Frenkel, the Israeli CEO and Co-Founder of Enroute shares some of these similar challenges,
“The Covid-19 pandemic hit the mobility industry hard. We have seen a drastic drop in ridership and mobility companies are laying off thousands of employees. This is potentially why Enroute has seen an increase in interest from mobility companies around the world that wish to understand how they can benefit from our technology, which brings new revenues to the industry. We are about to launch a new POC in Spain with Metro de Madrid and Banco Santander and working on new partnerships with mobility companies all around Asia with a focus on Japan.”
As the challenges the business world and startup ecosystems across Asia face require new solutions, another company, Rainmaking Innovation Japan, the facilitator of Startupbootcamp Scale Osaka, has been working on new and alternative ways to support Japan market entry for promising ventures. Both Natural Machines and Enroute are graduates of the program and as a result, have several Proof of Concept projects under their belt in partnership with large Japanese conglomerates they connected with during the program.
Along with the Japanese Government’s recent push in innovation and new projects, Startupbootcamp Scale Osaka have opened their applications for their second cycle, working to tackle the new challenges the world faces in its needs for Smart City solutions in the everchanging world. Applications are open to all startups around the world with technologies related to Smart Cities. The program will be run either partially or completely remotely beginning in late November this year.
Applications for Startupbootcamp Scale Osaka are open now. Interested scaleups can learn more and apply here.
The first Early Bird FastTrack Webinar will take place on 27 May 2020 and currently accepting registrations. Visit the official page of Scale Osaka to register for the webinar.
