Start-up
Mentorship
- Founder @ ExpertConnect Asia
- Partner with local universities in Singapore including the National University
- Official Mentor in the Venture Building Programme organised by NUS Enterprise and SUTD
Corporate Innovation
- Highly experienced in strategy consulting and M&A/business matching
- Extensive professional network in Asia across many Fortune 500 companies and key government agencies
Insights into Singapore
- Based in Singapore for the past decade
- Japan-Singapore intercultural intelligence
- Delivering key observations on Singapore’s working culture and education system
About Aki Nakamura
- Founder & Managing Director at ExpertConnect Asia since 2018
- Hybrid of Intrapreneur & entrepreneur.
- Ex-Disney New Business Development, Marketing and Franchise Management
- Guest speaker, panellist and mentor in Singapore startup ecosystem
- Contributing Writer at Nikkei-R
- MBA - General Management, UCLA Anderson School of Management
- MBA - General Management, National University of Singapore
- BA - Literature, Keio University, Japan
Recommendations
I have had the pleasure to work with Aki on a high profile executive project and find her to be extremely diligent and efficient in her work. She is always well prepared, well organized and provided numerous expert insights into making the project a huge success. I would recommend Aki as someone with good leadership skills and also a team player.
I can heartily recommend Aki having had the chance to to work with her on several different projects while we attended the UCLA-NUS EMBA program. During this time I was impressed by Aki's meticulous attention to details and her excellent preparation and follow-up. In addition, working in a international environment, Aki's conscientiousness about team dynamics helped teams focus in achieving objectives. Along with these qualities, Aki's has deep experience in marketing - this illustrated in her ability to on short notice very quickly pull together resources and launch a successful PR plan for the UCLA-NUS program.
Aki is a detail oreiented leader where others are honoured to work with her. Her analysis skill surpass expectation as she often comes out with creative ideas outside the box. Often time woking with her, she made us look at the project very interestingly, in different perspective. I truly enjoyed worling with Aki.
シンガポール・エコシステムの歩き方：大学編 (2021.08.16)
シンガポール教育機関×イノベーションの可能性
シンガポールが従来の優遇税制による大企業誘致に加えて、政策的にスタートアップに力を入れ始めた2014年から、今年で約7年。過程において「オープン・イノベーション」がブームになったこともあり、幅広い業種の日系大企業が新規事業の創出を目的にシンガポールを活用する動きが増えています。私自身は、コンサルティングの立場で数多くの新規事業を支援するとともに、自分でも当地で起業したことから、複眼的に様々な事例を至近距離で見てきました。
昨年からのコロナ禍で、従来の働き方が変化し、雇用の多様化が進む中、当地でも今までのやり方に加えて、新しい取り組みでイノベーション創出を目指す動きが出てきています。ディープテックへの更なる注力、国民の起業の裾野を広げるプログラム（ベンチャービルダー）開始などは、その一例で、幾つかの取り組みには参画する機会を得ました。こういった機会を通して改めて感じたことは、ローカル色が強まるのと反比例して、日系企業の方々に出会う比率が著しく下がるという点です。色々な理由で接点を持ち難いものと推測しますが、現地コミュニティと常に良い形で接点を持てるか否かは、当地で新規事業を進めていく上で非常に重要なポイントと考えます。本稿では、イノベーションに関連するコミュニティの中でも、特に現地大学の側面から、実体験とともに現場感を持った考察を展開していきたいと思います。