Indiegogo is planning to assist a greater number of Japanese business founders in achieving successful crowdfunding outcomes through a new rollout of its Global Fast Track Program.

The Global Fast Track Program was initially introduced by Indiegogo several years ago in China. The core concept of this program is to offer enhanced assistance to entrepreneurs within select markets, assisting them throughout the campaign creation process for a worldwide audience, with a particular focus on customers in the United States and Europe.

According to Lu Li, Indiegogo’s general manager of global strategy, the program has already enabled over 670 entrepreneurs to launch campaigns, with 40 of those initiatives securing $1 million or more in funding. To facilitate this, Indiegogo maintains a team in China dedicated to “sales, marketing, and concentrating on onboarding the highest-quality campaigns,” Li explained.

While successful campaigns have already originated from Japan, Indiegogo intends to broaden its operations there in a comparable manner. This expansion involves a partnership with the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO).

“We are pleased to announce the partnership between JETRO and Indiegogo,” stated Noriya Tarutani, executive director of JETRO San Francisco, in an official release. “Due to the consistent annual growth of over 40% in Japanese crowdfunding in recent years, we’ve experienced a significant increase in inquiries from Japanese startups regarding the utilization of crowdfunding to introduce their innovative products to the global marketplace. We believe this collaboration will prove advantageous for both Indiegogo as it establishes itself in Japan, and for Japanese startups seeking international expansion.”

Furthermore, Indiegogo will begin accepting campaign funding in Japanese yen and will feature campaigns from Japan within a dedicated “Made in Japan” showcase.

Indiegogo’s CEO, Andy Yang, indicated that the timing is ideal for expansion into Japan due to the emergence of a “dynamic startup environment” that is increasingly challenging the established dominance of larger, conventional companies.

Yang also noted that the company has achieved cashflow profitability and has maintained growth throughout the pandemic.

“Crowdfunding experienced a period of significant activity in 2016, followed by a phase of industry adjustment as entrepreneurs refined their approaches and backers developed clearer expectations,” he said. “This is an ongoing evolution… however, we are observing favorable trends, particularly a strong desire among entrepreneurs to explore alternative sales avenues.”