（Interviewee）Mr. Jim Lee, CEO, TOGGLE GK
Please share us what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.We applied for the Tokyo Financial Award because we would like to promote our investment analysis platform. We needed to capture the needs of the markets and verify the service flow.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub? We believe that finance exists to serve people's lives. Tokyo has a vivid urban charm that embraces these stories. The appeal of Tokyo as a financial city lies in that it allows us to hear each and every person's story.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?We received a lot of responses. We exchanged opinions with Japanese financial institutions.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?I really have the impression that resistance to new technologies has decreased considerably. We often hear, especially from our partners, that the winning the Tokyo Financial Award has proven very helpful when they introduce our products to their customers.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?Since our establishment, we have positioned our base in Tokyo as the headquarters in Asia. We do not expect this positioning to change in the future.
We would also like to provide Tokyo with opportunities to contribute to society in terms of AI human resource development.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?We used the Tokyo Financial Award as an interface for product development and market development. In order to understand the needs of the entire market to this extent, we would have had to pay huge research expenses or develop products based on our delusions, which would have been very costly. That is why we were fortunate to have come across this program.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?Please use this program for a globalization strategy.
Of course, not all startups can expect to benefit from the Tokyo Financial Award program.
But one thing I can say is that this program provides valuable opportunities to exchange ideas about problems that users are actually facing and solutions to them.
FY2023 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 1st Place
▼Theme :
・Greater availability of neutral and individually tailored advisory services regarding financial products and services
・Promotion of data utilization in financial fields
・Proliferation of investment products and services with low barriers to entry (e.g., products that enable investments with small amounts, reduced costs)
▼Summary of Solution :
・Provides financial planners and others with a chat-based service via unique generative AI technology that supports the analysis of client portfolios
・This new chat service is capable of providing more accurate analysis than existing AI chatbots, enabled by its ability to analyze past economic, financial, and market data
▼TOGGLE G.K.
HP：https://toggle.ai/ja
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Kenichiro Niiro, Director&COO, Credit Engine, Inc.
Please share us what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.We are a fintech startup company which provides mega-banks and other major financial institutions with lending and debt collecting services. At the same time, we have been expanding our business scope to the Gov Tech area since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. The expansion was triggered by the digitalization of loans guaranteed by Credit Guarantee Corporations, which we proposed when applying for the Tokyo Financial Award. We have long wanted to support digitalization in the government sector, and our desire to expand GovTech made us apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub?As an area where we can make a social impact, our collaboration with regional financial institutions and credit guarantee corporations has been increasing.
Looking at the Japanese market regionally, we consider Tokyo should lead the way in promoting digitalization.
During the course of our efforts to penetrate the market in Tokyo, we could win the Tokyo Financial Award. We hope to use this experience to eventually spread the ripple effect of digitalization to other parts of Japan. In this context, Tokyo is very attractive as a leading financial city in Japan.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?We could make several achievements.
First, we provide multiple types of financial IT solutions, where IP management and strategy are becoming very important. We are currently working on specific patent application procedures with the support of experts.
Second, the Support Program enabled us to meet with companies in a variety of fields. For startup companies, creating such opportunities is difficult at first. Therefore, this program has been very helpful for us.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?We have had a very big response.
We increasingly have opportunities to talk about how to digitalize current complex operations in the area of financing , primarily to regional financial institutions and the local governing sector.
The fact that we won the Tokyo Financial Award has given us a certain high level of credibility, making it easier for us to talk to them. In this regard, I feel that the award has had a very significant and beneficial impact on us.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?In Tokyo, we have already introduced our services at two mega-banks, and we are making proposals as needed to other financial institutions in Tokyo that provide loans guaranteed by Credit Guarantee Corporations.
As our services become more widespread in Tokyo, we expect that financial institutions in other regions will adopt our services as well.
Starting with Tokyo, we are planning to support the digitalization of other cities as well.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?Our loan digitalization services that we proposed are primarily targeted at regional financial institutions and the local government sector.
We have a lot of opportunities to talk with these clients. However, the larger the target clients, the more difficult it is to reach the right person in charge, especially for a startup company like us. In this context, our services were recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a leading city in Japan, with the Tokyo Financial Award. This achievement has facilitated our initial approach to companies. For this reason, we are very grateful for such a great opportunity we have gained through the Tokyo Financial Award.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?It is very significant to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award. Even for startups like us, it is gradually becoming easier to make proposals in the areas of FinTech and GovTech than before. Still, it is quite difficult for startups to take initial steps in these areas.Nevertheless, the support of the Tokyo Financial Award is very significant in terms of impact and business expansion.
I encourage any interested companies to apply for the award.
FY2023 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 2nd Place
▼Theme :
・Fostering collaboration within the financial industry, and between financial and non-financial industries
・Streamlined work processes in financial fields (e.g., streamlining processes for initiating use of financial services and for verifying ID)
▼Summary of Solution :
・Builds and provides a platform that enables a completely digitalized loan application process for loans guaranteed by guarantee corporations, for all processes undertaken by borrowers, financial institutions, and guarantee corporations
・Shortens the lead time for loan issuance by streamlining administrative tasks
▼Credit Engine, Inc.
HP：https://creditengine.jp/en
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Ilya Melkumov, CEO, Inovat Ltd.
Please share us what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.It was mainly because we started seeing how Tokyo accelerated not only as the capital of finance and financial technology in Asia, but also as the capital of the world.
Moreover, when we spoke with previous participants and winners of the program, they all gave very positive feedback. When we heard about their feedback, and when we looked at the market, we decided that this was a unique opportunity for us to participate.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub?Firstly, I think the ease of doing business with local companies, if you have a local office, is something that we've learned throughout participating in Tokyo Financial award.
Secondly, I believe that the openness of people to try new technology, to try new products, and that people are generally very interested in using innovative solutions. I think that gives confidence in people building financial products to come and build in Tokyo.
Thirdly, the superb, reliable infrastructure which makes working in the city very comfortable. I think that's also an important part because if you're working in finance, in financial technology, sometimes it can get very challenging, but I think the environment and the surroundings help make work easy.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?Number one is we are very close to signing a pilot agreement with a tier one client. I would not say that was a very easy process, but we worked very hard to make it happen.
Secondly, as we didn't have any legal presence in Japan or in Tokyo before participating in the program, so we started the process of registering Kabushiki-Kaisha entity and with the help of the relevant matching we found a very strong legal partner that helps us with any legal processes and also getting necessary licenses with the tax authorities in Japan and in Tokyo.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?I would say it was a very positive experience because for us, it's an achievement that shows we can build a product that we can launch and start in the market. I think that helped a lot with the spirit of the company because people were very excited of launching our product in Japan and in Tokyo.
Furthermore, when we mentioned Tokyo financial award at various events, a lot of people recognized the competition and a lot of people respected it, specifically coming from financial world or be it finance, be it fintech. So, I think for us it helped a lot with our credentials in in Japan, which were only building since a few years ago.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?Our plan is to expand not only in Tokyo, but to expand to every city in Japan first, and eventually make Tokyo our headquarter for the APAC region. Now, we're in the operation phase in Tokyo, which includes setting up legal entities, getting necessary legal licenses for our business.
I believe it's very important to start with Tokyo because Tokyo is the capital of everything in Japan specifically regarded finance, be it a bank, be it a travel partner, and then once we are fully set in Tokyo, then to scale to other cities in Japan, to other partners in other markets.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?For us, the unique part was that it was not only an award where we competed against other companies, but also that we got support which we would not have gotten elsewhere.
For instance, the business matching helped a lot to connect with very professional people from different parts of the finance industry. To be part of very experienced companies that have large operations in Japan and in Tokyo and to be able to speak with them about their experiences helped us a lot in understanding what steps we need to take to maximize the efficiency of our success in Tokyo.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?I would say the market in Japan and in Tokyo is unique, and to understand this uniqueness, you can either try it yourself or you can also speak with other people who can give you support. We understood that this program could be that support element which we could rely on.
As we started the program, it helped us guide in the in the correct steps of where we wanted to go and what we needed to do to launch our company, set up a business entity, hire people, start working with a large corporation, or smaller companies.
Additionally, I would say what helped us is that we spoke with previous contestants. We understood what they did to win or what they did to place in the top three. In our opinion, if we do our business correctly and if we listen to our customers, if we listen to regulators to get licenses, if we listen to our partners and build a correct product and understand what needs to be done to launch the product in Tokyo, then we will be successful in the Tokyo Financial Award.
FY2023 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 3rd Place
▼Theme :
・Fostering collaboration within the financial industry, and between financial and non-financial industries
・User-friendly financial services that are prepared for “the 100-year life” (e.g., financial services that assist those with age-related cognitive decline)
・Easier-to-use financial services (e.g., shorter screening times, lower interest rates)
▼Summary of Solution :
・Provides consumers travelling abroad with a totally digitalized process for obtaining VAT refunds
・Partners with tax authorities and duty-free stores by providing an API which enables foreign nationals visiting Japan to quickly receive VAT refunds for their purchases by submitting their purchases/receipts using the Inovat app
▼Inovat Ltd.
HP：https://inovat.tax/en
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Tomohiro Okada, CEO, KAERU, Inc
Please share what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.We were recommended to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award via a social networking site of our acquaintances as well as by the community owned by venture capitalists and the companies that support them. They suggested that the Tokyo Financial Award would be the perfect program for us since we are operating a FinTech business in Tokyo.
We often work with governments and feel that startups lack credibility and recognition. Since the Tokyo Financial Award is a program organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, we considered that winning the Tokyo Financial Award would be an effective means of expanding our business and services. In addition, the prize money of 10 million yen was attractive to us since we startups inevitably have limited cash.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub?As a company that's developing its business around Japan being its primary client base, we can't understate how significant it is to have Tokyo, our capital city, channeling resources into fintech companies and startups. The experience we get from starting new business endeavors in Tokyo has been extremely useful when expanding to other regions of Japan, and we are grateful for that.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?Yes, they have, and we are currently engaged in discussions for even further collaboration. We have also been expanding our business opportunities with the help from the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and not only the members involved in the award program.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?We, as a startup, do not often receive much attention, and our development and planning team members work while grappling with concerns as to whether our business is really needed by society. Winning this award has brought light to what we have achieved to date and fostered momentum for our company.
We have received many responses from outside the company congratulating us on the award. We have also received inquiries about our services from those who heard the news about our winning the award. The Tokyo Financial Award has helped us build trust and facilitate communication with our customers.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?With the proposal of our service that can support long distance nursing care, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has introduced us to members of the Council of Social Welfare whom we are currently communicating with. While some people in nursing care receive support to manage their finances privately, there are some cases where organizations like ours step in to provide support in collaboration with local governments. We are hoping to succeed in Tokyo first and then expand to other regions of the country.
After all, regions other than Tokyo will observe what is happening in Tokyo and try to follow. In this sense, getting our hands on the chance to succeed in Tokyo is a major opportunity for us.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?The Tokyo Financial Award attracts attention from many financial professionals, and thus enables startups to gain the recognition and credibility that they lack, which is one of the advantages of the Tokyo Financial Award program.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?We would strongly encourage those companies to apply. To be honest, many startups are concerned about taking part in these sorts of awards or startup accelerators. This is because these programs can quite frequently be unsuccessful, despite taking up to six months of the company’s time. Before applying, we usually consider how effective the program would be and how much resources we would have to dedicate to it. It is hard to see what the future will be at startups, even if that future is only one month or three months ahead, making it more difficult to gauge how busy you will be kept at that time. Many startups are concerned about applying for programs that are hard to opt out of once applied to. What is great about the Tokyo Financial Award is that it has a very established program, is startup-oriented, and does not require many resources to participate in. As mentioned before, startups need a lot of time to obtain recognition and trust from the public. Being able to acquire both of these important qualities by applying to the Tokyo Financial Award was extremely meaningful and gave our team members a lot of momentum.
Additionally, receiving the award will help spread your name to many governments and companies, especially in Tokyo, which makes applying a no-brainer for fintech companies.
FY2022 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 1st Place
▼Theme : New financial services to prepare for “the 100-year life”
▼Summary of Solution : A prepaid card for elderly customers with dementia.
Includes services such as family monitoring (remote tracking of usage history, balance top-up etc.) and service suspension in case of card loss.
Contributes to reducing the burden on caregivers, promotes financial inclusion for the elderly and provides the ease of cashless payment.
▼KAERU, Inc
HP：https://kaeru-inc.co.jp/
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Tsubasa Hotta, Head of APAC, Tractable Ltd.
Please share what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.With the recruiting process being so critical to startups, our primary purpose was to gain wider recognition beyond our industry in order to improve our capabilities to find talented candidates.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub?One of the most appealing aspects of Tokyo is its concentration of leading Japanese companies. In recent years, remote work and diverse work styles are becoming the norm. At the same time, however, discussions in person are also important for generating new ideas and discussing new business models.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?We have seen demand from local governments in Tokyo and other regions, noting that our solutions could be used for them to issue disaster victim certificates after a disaster hits. We are currently exchanging thoughts and ideas with these governments regarding the possibility of utilizing AI for this purpose.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?As an internal response, we could celebrate this award with all members of the customer service team in Tokyo and the technical team in London, who are collaborating with each other. This allowed us to create a sense of unity between the teams. As for the response outside the company, our solutions, which are mainly used in the non-life insurance industry, have attracted a wide range of interest also from other industries, such as the construction industry and local governments.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?Tractable offers a solution that would reduce the time required to pay insurance claims for damage to buildings caused by typhoons and other events from several months to a few days. As mentioned earlier, we have received interest from various companies, including insurance companies. We intend to continue to develop our business to help victims recover as quickly as possible during the typhoon season.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?One of the most appealing aspects of the Tokyo Financial Award is that various companies from abroad as well as from Japan participate in the program. The Tokyo Financial Award is also very appealing because it allows participants to hear about interesting business ideas from other participating companies and to network with those companies. It is different from other conventional programs in which participants just prepare presentations to receive the award.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?Any companies interested in participating should definitely do so. Various companies from Japan and around the world with promising businesses gather for this award, and the opportunity to expand your company’s network through this event will be truly meaningful.
FY2021 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 3rd Place
▼Theme : Simple and easy to understand insurance procedures are needed
▼Summary of Solution : Reduces the time it takes to pay out insurance claims for building damages caused by typhoons from several months to a few days
AI solution automatically calculates the appropriate repair cost by simply taking pictures of the damaged parts of the building with a smartphone.
▼Tractable Ltd.
HP：https://tractable.ai/en
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Ziv Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, Paygilant
Why did you decide to apply to the Tokyo Financial Award?Tokyo and Japan are one of the most advanced markets that drive FinTech in Asia and globally. Since Paygilant specialize in frictionless fraud prevention for FinTech, digital banking and payments, it was very clear to us that this was one of the markets we would like to operate in. This is one of the reasons of why we applied for this program. It was important for us to take part of it and be able to accelerate our activities and bring the Paygilant technology to Tokyo.
What is the appeal of Tokyo as a financial city?Tokyo is the one of the fastest growing financial cities in the world. The developed fintech market, digital banks and payments attract companies to be part of Tokyo’s financial landscape and play a role in delivering added value to its residents. Also, the government is driving initiatives and incentivizing companies, which open new business and investments opportunities to Tokyo financial organizations and technology providers. Operating in Tokyo as a financial center, strengthened our decision to be part of it and contribute from our experience, technologies, and knowledge to the reduction of fraud in FinTech and digital banking, especially when it comes to distinguishing between fraudulence transactions and legitimate customers.
What are some unique advantages of the Tokyo Financial Award?Tokyo Financial Award is a great door opener and a gateway to the market in Japan, specifically to Tokyo. It starts with the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan government, the exposure, brand awareness and recognition. In addition, there are valuable connections, ability to engage and interact with relevant companies in Tokyo. It accelerates the process and shortens the time it normally takes to penetrate a new market and engage with all those potential companies in Tokyo. For us at Paygilant, the program and award exposed us to the Tokyo financial market, while providing the necessary information and support, to kick off our activities.
Did you receive any feedback from inside/outside of your company after receiving the Tokyo Financial Award?We received lots of positive feedback. After winning the Tokyo Financial Award, companies in Tokyo, in Asia and other regions contacted us, which helped our company grow. The collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan and other entities after winning the award was very fruitful and beneficial as well.
How do you plan to expand your proposed services and business in Tokyo?Paygilant is very active in Asia, being one of the fastest growing markets in FinTech. We work with virtual/Neo banks, eWallets, payments and other FinTech companies. We plan to expand that in Tokyo and have taken the required steps, to ensure that financial organizations in Tokyo and Japan, will be able to benefit greatly from Paygilant’s products.
Can you share a message to companies considering applying to the Tokyo Financial Award?My message would be: “Go on, do it. Apply for this program”. This is an excellent accelerator. The program is of great benefit to the company which will contribute immensely to the execution and penetration plans. It will also contribute to brand awareness and open-up new business opportunities. I am a very big supporter, and I encourage all of you to go and participate in this program.
FY2020 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 1st Place
▼Theme：(BtoB) Want to further accelerate digital transformation in the financial industry
▼Summary of Solution：Paygilant is a revolutionary frictionless fraud prevention for fintech, designed to eliminates the trade-off between fraud prevention, frictionless user experience, and user privacy.
▼Paygilant
HP：https://paygilant.com/
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Maurizio Raffone, Chief Financial Officer, Credify Pte. Ltd.
Why did you decide to apply to the Tokyo Financial Award?We applied to the Tokyo Financial Award because we liked the structure of the award. What I mean by that is the fact that Award focuses on problems and challenges that Tokyo residents face in real life, regarding financial services. It was an opportunity for us to gain insights of opportunities for us to develop our technology in a way that would be suitable for Tokyo and Japan’s very large market.
What is the appeal of Tokyo as a financial city?Tokyo is undeniably an extremely important financial center globally. Not only it is a global financial center, Tokyo sits at the core of Japan’s well developed, rich market with a large population. Tokyo acts as a perfect gateway for expanding our business into a market that can offer great opportunities. Tokyo is a great city to live in as well, and a very attractive place to be in for a technology company.
What are some unique advantages of the Tokyo Financial Award?The Tokyo Financial Award’s support program was very professionally run. As a startup, we have applied to, and been successful at, several different programs, being accelerators, hackathons or other corporate programs. We could sense that the way the Tokyo Financial Award program was run was very well organized, very professional. We always knew who we could talk to, and were well supported. I cannot pinpoint one specific thing that the program does especially well, because it does pretty much everything quite well.
Did you receive any feedback from inside/outside of your company after receiving the Tokyo Financial Award?We received quite a number of positive responses from the companies we engaged with. Quite a few were surprised by our achievement, not because they did not expect us to win, but the fact that we got recognized as a foreign company trying to do business in Japan. That always is a very strong message because working as a startup that comes from overseas to Japan is challenging, and requires building trust. Having gone through the program and having won second prize, it made a lot of those conversations easier.
How do you plan to expand your proposed services and business in Tokyo?Our current strategy is to establish relationships with potential partners in Japan, working primarily with one of our investors. We are tailoring our technology through our Japanese IT investor and partner, addressing the needs of Japanese clients. This takes a little bit of patience and requires long-term vision, but I would say that’s an essential part of doing business in Japan. It’s all about building relationships and establishing long-term viability.
Can you share a message to companies considering applying to the Tokyo Financial Award?First of all, if you’re planning to apply to the Tokyo Financial Award, you should do it without a doubt. It’s been very worthwhile for us, and I’m sure it will be for you. Some tips I can suggest is to really pay attention to all the “needs and challenges” that have been published for the application, and to make a very clear point on how you can address these themes. I believe that while the Award targets startup companies, it is ultimately for the people of Tokyo. So please make sure that your solution actually does help the people who live in Tokyo and try your best. Good luck!
FY2020 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 2rd Place
▼Theme：(BtoB) Want a service to promote data utilization
▼Summary of Solution：Provides “idX,” a solution based on the concept of “self-sovereign ID” and “distributed ID,” which allows users to manage their own personal information and control the scope of disclosure.
▼Credify Pte.Ltd
HP：https://www.credify.jp/
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Daisuke Murata, President of CrowdLoan Inc.
Why did you decide to apply to the Tokyo Financial Award?We started providing our loan matching platform service in January 2020 and were in the process of increasing the number of affiliations with financial institutions when the opportunity for the 2020 Tokyo Financial Award came up. We applied for the Award, as we realized that it was a valuable, once-in-a-year opportunity to gain recognition from a public institution, which could help us gain more financial institutions and businesses as partners. Although there are many loan comparison websites, there was no platform with recognition from a public institution, so we thought the Award would be beneficial for our company.
What is the appeal of Tokyo as a financial city?Although financial institutions are located throughout Japan, most of our business partners, such as automobile and real estate companies, are concentrated in Tokyo. The appeal of doing business in Tokyo is the opportunity to be able to engage with a wide variety of business partners and users.
What are some unique advantages of the Tokyo Financial Award?The fact that Tokyo Financial Awards accepts entries from both national and international companies is great, because it allows for a wider range of evaluation compared to other business contests. In our case, we provide lending service which exists in many foreign countries - the fact that we were able to win the Award from an international applicant pool was very valuable for us.
Did you receive any feedback from inside/outside of your company after receiving the Tokyo Financial Award?We publicized the fact that we had received the Tokyo Financial Award through our service website, which led to a greater level of trust in our platform among our end users. In addition, financial institutions and partner companies were able to see our service supporting the public interest, which increased chances of providing our services.
How do you plan to expand your proposed services and business in Tokyo?In addition to the automobile and real estate-related loans we have been offering, we would like to increase opportunities for business company partnerships, such as low-interest loans for certification/technical/business schools, orthodontics/implants that require a large fee, and infertility treatment, etc. We will continue to work on matching loans from banks using the platform so that both service providers and users can successfully utilize finance.
Can you share a message to companies considering applying to the Tokyo Financial Award?The Tokyo Financial Award is one of the limited number of awards that is offered by a public institution, that FinTech startups can apply to. As the entry pool is large and winning the award may be a challenge, I believe that receiving recognition from the Award is highly beneficial for your future business development and service provision. I encourage everyone to take up the challenge of the Award.
FY2020 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 3rd Place
▼Theme：(BtoB) Want to further accelerate digital transformation in the financial industry
▼Summary of Solution：In addition to data on the loan performance of users using the company’s services, a function has been added that uses external data to improve the screening system using proprietary AI.
▼CrowdLoan Inc.
HP：https://corp.crowdloan.jp/
Interview Video
（Interviewee）Mr. Gentaro Tominaga, CEO, Frich, Inc
Please share what prompted your company to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.We learned on the internet that an InsurTech startup had won the Tokyo Financial Award in the previous fiscal year, which directly inspired us to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award. As we are also a startup offering innovative services in the field of InsurTech, Frich has been very interested in the Tokyo Financial Award for some time. The Tokyo Financial Award promotes the development of Tokyo as a financial city. At the same time, it provides great opportunities to help startups grow their business and significantly enhance their corporate brands, which motivated us to apply for the Tokyo Financial Award.
What do you think makes Tokyo a successful financial hub?We believe the financial industry recognizes Tokyo as one of its global headquarters. One of the major appeals of Tokyo is that it provides a business environment in which financial institutions and investors are closely packed together. For example, in Jimbocho where our head office is located, there are both major insurance companies and smaller insurance agencies all within walking distance of each other. Despite the new status quo of working remotely due to the pandemic, this is a great advantage for the financial industry - and especially the insurance industry - as it enables us to communicate face to face.
Have any substantial achievements come to fruition from leveraging the opportunities for collaboration and business matching facilitated by the government's support?Due to the great response online, we have received inquiries from numerous business companies and investors through the internet. Many of these inquiries have led to consideration of specific collaborations and investment projects.
What kind of reaction have you seen both inside and outside your company after being awarded the Tokyo Financial Award?Receiving the Tokyo Financial Award was truly a major turning point for us. Internally, everyone got very excited about the Edo Kiriko trophy, and it became a great catalyst to solidify our confidence and take pride in the services we provide.
Externally, we have received many positive responses and have managed to attract a great deal of attention - even some financing from a number of investors and business partners.
The Tokyo Financial Award has without a doubt elevated the trust in our services and has helped us grow our business to a completely different level.
How do you plan to deliver your proposed services and expand your business beyond Tokyo in the future?We proposed a service of creating medical coverage for pets that is specialized for certain breeds and medical conditions. However, we came to understand that social infrastructure for pet owners has not kept pace at all with the increase in the number of pets being kept. In the pet industry, which has many serious issues in addition to medical care, we intend to develop and explore a wide range of solutions for the issues related to pets and pet owners, with financial services at the core of those solutions.
What aspects make the Tokyo Financial Award stand unique?On top of everything mentioned above about Tokyo being a fantastic financial hub, the huge merits for startups like ours is that we can dare to shed a light on innovative services that are yet to exist, tie those services into Tokyo’s financial ecosystem and even have word about our services spread so that it gains recognition and trust.
Is there anything you would like to say to companies that are considering applying for the Tokyo Financial Award?There couldn’t be a better opportunity than the Tokyo Financial Award to gain recognition for your innovative services and ideas within the financial industry, and to acquire a tremendous amount of support. We strongly encourage any business seeking to grow based in Tokyo to apply.
FY2019 Tokyo Financial Award - Financial Innovation Category, 1st Place
▼Theme : Want a service that allows insurance sharing
▼Summary of Solution : Providing pet insurance services for a limited number of breeds of dogs through SNS community groups.
▼Frich, Inc
HP：https://frich.co.jp/
Interview Video
