Application Close on August 22, 2025
History of NTT Startup Challenge
Welcome to NSC (NTT Startup Challenge), the premier platform nurturing the Startup Ecosystem in Southeast Asia. Since 2016, we've sparked over 7,000 applications, empowering 4,000 startups towards groundbreaking business development. This year, NTT Holdings and NTT Group companies proudly host the event, amplifying our dedication to nurturing innovation. Join us to unlock dynamic partnerships, as NTT shares its extensive resources to drive innovation and growth across SEA and Japan.
Participants
7,000
Startups
4,000
Countries
5
Partners
300
Direct Access to Industry Leaders and Capital
Step into the NSC where you can engage face-to-face with diverse array of industry leaders, potential partners, and fellow innovators. This platform offers a rare chance to secure critical funding, gain valuable insights, and forge partnerships that can dramatically accelerate your startup's growth and visibility in the industry.
Showcase Your Startup Among the Best
Compete and stand out among 400 regional startups for a chance to be one of the finalists at NSC. Selected by NTT, these top startups gain spotlight exposure, attracting support and recognition that can catapult your business to the forefront of the SEA startup scene.
Leverage NTT’s Ecosystem for Growth
NSC is powered by a coalition of NTT group companies, providing a unique platform to access comprehensive resources, technologies, and partnerships. Exploit this collective strength to scale your startup across SEA and Japan, exploring new dimensions in Fintech, Agritech, AI and more.
Awards
$ 10,000
$ 5,000
$ 3,000
Speakers, Judges & VIPs
Kuan Hsu
KK Fund
Kuan Hsu is the General Partner of KK Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm backing visionary entrepreneurs to address Southeast Asia's most pressing challenges through innovation and leadership.
Akie Iriyama
Waseda University
Akie Iriyama is a professor at Waseda Business School. His research in strategic management, international business, and entrepreneurship has been published in prestigious journals. Previously, he worked as an industrial economist and consultant at Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc. in Japan.
Ken Ebihara
Founding General Partner of Rebright Partners
Takeshi Ebihara is Founding General Partner at Rebright Partners, VC firm invests in Seed to Series-A Startups in SE Asia and India includes Indonesian Largest IPO company Bukalapak (1st round Lead/Solo), Philipino Largest tech exit company Coins.Ph (1st round co-lead) , multiple Indian Unicorn and Soonicorns. Ebihara has been in the industry more than decades as a venture capitalist as well as serial entrepreneur started his career at JAFCO, the largest VC/PE firm in Japan in 1994. He also founded and managed several Tech companies includes Tokyo Stock-EX Listed Public Company
Antonny Liem
GDP Venture
Antonny is a founding partner at GDP Venture. Technology, marketing, people, and execution have driven his professional journey. He began in Enterprise IT before joining SemutApi Colony as Managing Director in 2005, transforming it into a digital marketing agency. In 2010, he started MerahPutih Incubator, the seed investment arm of GDP Venture.
Yuma Kotake
NTT DOCOMO Ventures
Yuma Kotake is the director of NTT Docomo Ventures, a corporate venture capital of NTT Group, and responsible for investment in Southeast Asia. He also has more than 10 years of experience as in-house lawyer dealing with cross-border M&A and alliance.
Ken Katsuyama
NTT Holdings
Ken Katsuyama is the Senior Vice President, Head of Global Business at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). His current responsibility is the global business of the whole NTT group. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of NTT DATA, Inc., a major operating company of NTT group covering outside of Japan.
Yasunori Kinebuchi
NTT Director
Yasunori Kinebuchi is a seasoned corporate strategist and finance expert with a global perspective. Since joining NTT in 2006, He has held multiple senior roles, currently leading Global Incubation activities at NTT Holdings, serving as Director. In this role, he oversees open innovation initiatives across NTT's global network. Previously, he led corporate strategy in Singapore and in the UK, and directed partnerships with industry leaders. Kinebuchi also pioneered the "NTT Startup Challenge," supporting startup collaboration across Asia. He brings strong strategic insight and international experience to NTT's growth and innovation goals.
Our Community Speaks
"NTT Startup Challenge has helped Ravenry open many doors especially while we were in our early stages. NTT Startup Challenge helped us access the Japanese market, providing us with insights and business matching opportunities. As a result of that, we very quickly managed to acquire several long-term Japanese organisations as clients. NTT Startup Challenge has continued to engage Ravenry with valuable collaboration and networking opportunities since we participated in 2018. We are proud participants of the program, and look forward to continuing our relationship with NTT as we grow our business."
"As a trusted partner of NTT, Qontak since 2017 has been able to leverage NTTs company ecosystem, a wide network of enterprise connections and a number of customers. We sincerely thank NTT for joint go-to market support over the years and for more collaborations in the future. The NTT startup challenge was especially helpful and the pinnacle of our working relationship having bridged over 400 tech companies to jointly collaborate and cross sell."
"We at ProfilePrint are honored and fortunate to have won 1st place at the inaugural NTT Startup challenge 2024 which allowed us to work closely with NTT Group as a strategic partner to deepen our market penetration. It not only expedited our expansion into the Japan market but also allowed us to work alongside NTT group companies in serving the larger global market."
"It has been a true privilege to be involved with the NTT Startup Challenge since 2017 and to witness its evolution into a leading platform for collaboration between startups across Asia and the NTT Group. NTT Startup Challenge offers an exceptional gateway to NTT Group’s vast resources, networks, and markets—enabling win-win partnerships that drive real innovation. I wholeheartedly encourage startups across Asia to seize this opportunity and be part of a vibrant ecosystem of shared success together with the NTT Group. "
Partners
Community Partners
