Calling2Scale Gunma 2026: Gateway to Japan

Take your startup to Japan with Calling2Scale Gunma

Do you have a market-ready solution and the ambition to enter one of the world's most advanced economies?

Calling2Scale Gunma 2026: Gateway to Japan is a three-month hybrid market-entry programme designed to help advanced European startups turn corporate innovation challenges in Japan into concrete collaboration.

Delivered by EIT Food through the EIT Global Outreach platform, in partnership with the Gunma Prefecture Governor's Office, the programme connects 10–14 selected startups with leading Gunma-based corporates that have already defined the innovation challenges they want to solve.

Who is it for?

The call is open to legally incorporated startups established in an EU Member State or in a Horizon Europe Associated Country eligible for Pillar III activities (please check the detailed eligibility conditions in the Call Guidelines). Applicants must have a product at TRL 7 or above and have completed at least one funding round.

Each application must address one innovation challenge from one of the six participating corporates:

• Sanden – intelligent thermal management, thermal energy storage and advanced heat transfer for electric vehicles
• Gunseisha – circular plastics, environmental value certification and circular business models
• JINS – seamless eyewear experience, healthcare eyewear and eyewear for critical environments
• Taiyo Yuden – sustainable packaging, energy efficiency and resource valorisation, and sensing for environmental monitoring
• Nippon Kayaku – AEM water electrolysis, electrochemical CO₂ capture and microphysiological systems for drug discovery
• Kyowa Industrial – intelligent manufacturing, advanced manufacturing technologies and the factory of the future

The full description of each challenge is set out in Annex 4 of the Call Guidelines.

Application deadline

Applications open on 3 August 2026 and close on 3 September 2026, 17:00 CET, through the dedicated application platform at https://www.myeitfood.eu/

What you will gain

Over three months, selected startups will:

• Work directly with Japanese corporates actively looking for European solutions to identified challenges
• Take part in six online training sessions on Japan's innovation ecosystem, business culture, regulation, pitching and corporate collaboration
• Hold structured 1:1 meetings with innovation contact points inside the participating corporates
• Join an in-person Immersion Lab in Japan (week of 24 November 2026), with curated matchmaking, corporate site visits, sector roundtables and Proof-of-Concept scoping
• Become EIT alumni, with access to the EIT's global ecosystem of over 3,000 partners

Financial support

Each selected startup receives a lump sum of €2,200 towards travel and accommodation for the Immersion Lab in Japan.

What's next after the programme?

The programme is built to produce outcomes rather than exposure: Proof-of-Concept pathways, pilot opportunities and market-entry roadmaps with committed corporate counterparts. Two closing virtual sessions in early December 2026 are dedicated to next steps towards establishing partnerships in Japan, with Gunma serving as a launchpad for expansion across Asia.

If your solution is ready for the market and Japan is your next step, Calling2Scale Gunma 2026 is your entry point.

Apply now and start building your presence in Japan with the EIT Community.

For questions about the call, contact the programme team at bohdan.novoshytskyi@eitfood.eu and catherine.breyssens@eitfood.eu.