Third Social Innovator Competition Selects 16 Entrepreneurs for Final Presentation

The Institute for Strategic Leadership (ISL, Center for Social Innovation) of Japan, a non-profit organization working in leadership training and public awareness raising, announced on August 21, 2013, that its entrepreneur development program, Social Innovator Koshien, would launch on September 28, 2013, at the Osaka City Central Public Hall.

Social Innovator Koshien is an event designed to foster business model development skills and leadership among social entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs focused on using the domain of business to solve social issues. People across a wide range of ages, from 26 to 89, confronting social issues in various fields, including education, pediatric care, community revitalization, and post-disaster reconstruction support, will take part in the event.

Sixteen entrepreneurs selected as winners of presentation events across Japan will receive support from about 50 company owners acting as mentors. Faced with a final presentation event to be held in Tokyo in March 2014, the entrepreneurs and their mentors will spend half a year hammering out the visions and business models of their respective companies.

At the second competition held in 2012, the idea for a Magokoro ("caring" in Japanese) Delivery Service by Ayumi Matsumoto won the top award. This idea exploits Yamato Delivery Service's delivery network to tackle the issue of vulnerable shoppers and the solitary deaths of elderly persons by providing shopping aid and a regular monitoring service through delivery drivers.