Obu City 'Ganbaru Jigyosha' Support Subsidy

The Ganbaru Jigyosha Support Subsidy is a three-year (FY2026-FY2028) program operated by the City of Obu (Aichi Prefecture) to strengthen the management base and productivity of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and sole proprietors. It supports five categories of projects: R&D of new technologies/products/services, market development for new business areas, exhibition at trade fairs, acquisition of intellectual property rights, and resolution of operational issues by adopting products/services from startups affiliated with STATION Ai. Eligible applicants must be SMEs (as defined in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act) or sole proprietors with a business office in Obu City and no delinquent municipal tax. Groups of SMEs are also eligible provided that at least half of the members have offices in Obu City. Industry-specific size thresholds apply: manufacturing/construction/transport up to 300 employees or 300M yen capital; wholesale up to 100 employees or 100M yen; service up to 100 employees or 50M yen; retail up to 50 employees or 50M yen. For each project type, eligible expenses and ceilings are: (1) R&D - machinery/measuring equipment rental and purchase (combined cap 800,000 yen), materials, surveys, expert fees and travel, meetings, venues, analysis/testing, outsourcing (up to 2/3 of eligible expenses); cap 600,000 yen. (2) Market development (commercialization) - reference/material purchases, surveys, analysis, outsourcing, PR; cap 300,000 yen. (3) Market development (trade fair) - booth fees and decoration (rental allowed); cap 200,000 yen. (4) Issue resolution - service fees, system purchase, equipment purchase/lease, initial setup for STATION Ai startup products; cap 500,000 yen. (5) IP acquisition - fees to JPO and patent attorneys for filings; cap 150,000 yen. The subsidy rate is 1/2 of eligible expenses (consumption tax excluded). Each project type may receive funding only once during the three-year period, with limited two-year exceptions for Wellness Valley-linked R&D and continuing issue-resolution projects. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until annual budgets are exhausted. Procedurally: submit Plan Form 1 and Implementation Plan Form 2 at least two weeks before project start, receive approval, execute the project, submit Grant Application Form 4 and Performance Report Form 5 within one month after completion, and finally submit Payment Request Form 7 after receiving the grant decision notice.