Happy New Year from Tokyo, Japan!
ETIC has been steadily working on nurturing the entrepreneurial spirits of the younger generation and expanding the landscape of startups and the social sector in Japan. It has been more than a year since the Japanese government announced its five-year plan to boost support for startups in accelerating social impact and economic growth and we believe that our work is making a meaningful impact. (Link)
In our first e-newsletter of the year, we would like to share some highlights of our activities in 2023.
Becoming the Largest Founders Community in Japan
Tokyo Startup Gateway is a business plan contest organized in partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Over the last nine years, the contest received more than 10,000 applicants, which makes it the largest in Japan. Notably, 45% of the applicants are teenagers (ages 15–19) and 42% are women, attracting demographics unfamiliar with entrepreneurship to learn essential entrepreneurial mindsets through mutual learning and inspiration. This year, four out of the top five winners were women with the grand prize winner awarded to Kinuko Ono for her crime prevention app, which utilizes video, audio, and GPS to assess danger, safeguarding children from crimes. (Link in Japanese)
MAKERS UNIVERSITY is now the largest student entrepreneur community in the country, supported by funding and mentoring from legendary entrepreneurs across diverse fields such as education, technology, and international cooperation. Graduates from the program were awarded the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) sponsored by the Entrepreneur Organization (EO), and advanced to the world competition. Additionally, Shunsuke Tsuboi, Founder of Sagli Inc., and Akiya Iwasa, Founder of Cloudbase Inc.,were selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023. Tsuboi’s company integrates satellite data and AI to solve global agricultural and environmental challenges, while Iwasa’s company focuses on ensuring high-security cloud operations for businesses. Among the 120 Forbes 30 Under 30 Japan awardees, an impressive 13 were alumni from ETIC’s program. (Link in Japanese)
As of 2023, ETIC has supported more than 2,000 entrepreneurs in various ages and regions during the startup phase through its acceleration programs.
Expanding Social Impact through Partnerships
ETIC’s key principle is to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit in every employee for co-creation. In recent years, we have been expanding our social impact through collaboration with a number of partners, including entrepreneurs, corporations, and international organizations.
Mitene Fund was launched in 2020 with the initial funding provided by Kenji Kasahara, one of Japan’s leading internet entrepreneurs. To date, a total of 1.2 billion yen has been distributed as grants. ETIC, as the administrator of the Fund, provides mentoring support to 85 nonprofits addressing a range of social issues affecting children and families, including abuse, disabilities, poverty, childbirth, parenting, and rare diseases. Kasahara’s initiative sparked a trend known as “New Philanthropy,” with other entrepreneurs in Japan following in his footsteps. (Link in Japanese)
The Disaster Support Fund was launched in collaboration with 16 regional intermediate support organizations with whom we’ve had a decade-long partnership. Starting with the 2021 Atami landslides, the Fund has provided assistance in the aftermath of the torrential rains in Murakami, Niigata and Akita prefectures, and the 2023 Ishikawa earthquake and has been actively involved with disaster relief and recovery efforts. It not only focuses on the emergency phase of rescuing lives and restoring homes and stores, but also supports intermediate organizations working in the affected areas with funding, talents, and networks during the mid to long-term recovery phases focusing on people’s health, education, and community revitalization. (Link in Japanese) We are currently raising funds to support the aftermath of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Here is a link with details on how to help.
In 2023, our team organized a three-month self-management session for 30 female leaders from five countries in the Asia-Pacific region, a program previously participated by over 300 Japanese changemakers. (Link) We encourage all the changemakers to enhance their social impact while embodying a way of life true to themselves through their activities. The program focuses on understanding one’s inner state from thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, and achieving desired outcomes even in uncertain situations. This program has strengthened our international collaborations, including recruiting participants through the Youth Business International (YBI) network.
Broadening the Community Through Inter-organizational Member Exchanges
In 2023, ETIC significantly increased the number of people-to-people exchanges among the partner organizations. We welcomed Hiroyuki Wani from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, who joined ETIC as a temporary employee. He is a young leader responsible for policy-making in entrepreneurship education in Japanese high schools and universities. Tae Tanaka, a senior staff at ETIC, was assigned to become the founding member of the Yamada Shintaro D&I Foundation, which provides scholarships to female students studying science and technology. She played a crucial role in recruiting key members of the foundation, which is yielding significant impacts since its founding. (Link in Japanese)
In the summer, Dirk Bischof, Founder and CEO of Hatch Enterprise, a leading UK organization in supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs, joined ETIC as a temporary member for three months. (Link) Through our partnership with Hatch, we facilitate knowledge sharing between Japanese and British social entrepreneurs via online sessions and fieldwork.
Many ETIC employees serve as board members in nonprofits, foundations, and startups, spreading entrepreneurial spirit in the community. We firmly believe in people-to-people exchanges, which are increasingly important in fostering ecosystems of entrepreneurial leaders.
Acknowledgements
In December, we hosted an event to celebrate ETIC’s 30th anniversary and introduce our brand renewal with a new tagline and purpose. The event reminded us that our 30-year journey has always been supported by friends and partners who share our vision of creating a new society together. As we enter 2024, we are committed to nurturing young leaders brimming with entrepreneurial spirit.
Lastly, as the Director of International Partnerships at ETIC, I extend my gratitude to our global project partners for their support and collaboration: J.P. Morgan, Barclays, eBay, Standard Chartered Bank, NN Insurance, UBS, Starbucks, Paypal, Apollo Opportunity Foundation, Youth Business International (YBI) & its community organizations, UNDP, CAPS, Give2Asia, Hatch Enterprise
For those who want to stay updated with the latest from ETIC, please follow us on our LinkedIn page.
For those who are interested in partnering with ETIC and helping us to cultivate entrepreneurial ecosystems, please see our Partner page.
With gratitude,
Mitsuhiro Yamazaki
Director of International Partnerships, ETIC
