European interior designers will now have a direct gateway into the Asian market with a new industry program set to close the gaps in the global industry.
The European Commission-sponsored program, the EU gateway, will offer interior designers and their companies a support program that will allow them an easy transition into the Asian industry.
“This program is designed to support EU companies to enter Asian markets, which represent possible key opportunities for their future development, with significant growth potential over the next years,” says EU Gateway Program representative Alexandru Bernea. “For the next economic mission, we are targeting Interior Design companies and the application process is fast and transparent.”
The EU Gateway Program essentially allows for the funding of Business Missions, which provide monetary support and organisational assistance to those in the European design and technology sectors in an effort to develop business links to both Japan and Korea.
The program and its associated Business Missions cater to a number of different objectives that at present specifically relate to the Japanese industry, including:
- Discovering the world of interior design in Japan
- Deepening European designers’ knowledge of the Japanese market and developing a business strategy to penetrate the market
- Introducing and displaying their products to potential business partners and having on-site visits to Japanese firms in the design business.
As it stands, since the program’s conception, interior design business missions have seen 160 European companies enter the Japanese market, with 95 per cent of the foreign industry members gaining positive Japanese business contacts.
Interior designers must meet certain specifications to gain the support of the program, including a strong business model and English language skills, but the key component is that they must demonstrate a drive to extend the borders of the interior design sector.
Interior design portrays the true richness of different cultures in a way that is not often easily communicated in the other industry sectors. Exploration of foreign industry allows for design opportunities to expand exponentially and gives designers an opportunity to share innovation and learn from one another on a global scale.
