On 13 September 2023, the EU-Japan Centre was invited to speak at the Sustainable Technology Promotion Platform (STePP) Forum organised by UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office, Tokyo (UNIDO ITPO Tokyo).
UNIDO ITPO Tokyo aims to promote a selection of Japanese technologies to accelerate the transfer of sustainable technologies to developing and emerging markets. These technologies cover five areas: energy, environment, agribusiness, human health, and disaster management. They can be found through UNIDO ITPO Tokyo’s STePP.

During the event, the EU-Japan Centre presented existing case studies of EU-Japan business cooperation in Africa to an audience of Japanese STePP companies, which were mainly SMEs. The Centre also encouraged the audience to consider EU companies as possible partners in Africa and to think about complementarity rather than competition. In addition, the EU-Japan Centre introduced its helpdesk and services supporting trilateral cooperation. The event was an excellent opportunity for the EU-Japan Centre to meet Japanese SMEs developing sustainable technologies and interested in working in emerging markets. 

This was the second event collaboration between the EU-Japan Centre and UNIDO ITPO Tokyo.