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2022 GLOBIS Venture Challenge (G-CHALLENGE)

January 31st, 2023|Community Stories
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Congratulations to our 3 winners at GLOBIS Venture Challenge 2022 Final Presentation

GLOBIS University held the final presentation of the GLOBIS Venture Challenge (G-CHALLENGE) 2022, a business plan contest for current students and graduates, at its Tokyo Campus on Sunday, January 29.

The G-CHALLENGE is designed to encourage current students and graduates who want to start their own businesses. It provides a place to compete and support start-up funds. In addition, the program aims to help these companies grow into mega ventures in the future. GLOBIS University and GLOBIS Corporation will establish a fund for the investment. The grand prize-winning teams will be awarded the opportunity to receive an investment of up to 10 million yen. Judging criteria focus on the business plan’s marketability, competitive advantage, feasibility, and potential for profitability, as well as whether it is in line with GLOBIS’s educational philosophy, including its social nature and the will and aspirations of its management members.

This year, 54 teams applied and the contest’s final round was held at the Tokyo Campus. Many GLOBIS students joined to take a step toward their future in entrepreneurship. After reviewing the presentations of the 8 finalists, 3 teams, Ai-wine, Dea Dora, and Yakuzaiko Inc. were awarded the grand prize.

「G-CHALLENGE 2021」Winning team profile (In presentation order)

Ai-wine

Representative: Ms. Yasuko Furukawa (Tokyo School, Enrolled in 2021)

Overview: A one-stop support for high-end wine restaurants to replace current analog and labor-intensive tasks from operations, such as wine purchasing and inventory management, to attract new customers.

Ai-wine is transforming the management of the wine restaurant industry, which continues to be labor-intensive. The team includes a former sommelier with over 20 years of experience in the wine industry, an inventory management system engineer, a data analyst, media business development, and financial specialists. The company is a leading provider of inventory management systems engineering, data analysts, media business development, and financial specialists.

Dea Dora

Representative: Masaki Makihara (Nagoya, Graduated in 2022)

Overview: This project builds a personal data model through daily records obtained from cancer survivors and provides personal support, such as care for side effects.

Diet and nutrition management issues for cancer survivors vary from anorexia to nausea and taste disorders and are serious challenges for the individual. However, they are not high on the list of priorities in medical care, which is first of all to cure the disease. Especially after discharge from the hospital, guidance by a nutritionist with expertise is not actively provided. Dea Dora supports positive challenges for those who return to active duty after discharge from the hospital.

Yakuzaiko Co., Ltd

Representative: Toru Ebinuma, Tokyo, graduated in 2021

Overview: An online pharmacy that provides a seamless healthcare experience for allergy sufferers by eliminating inefficiencies in obtaining information and medications.

Yakuzaiko Co., Ltd is an online pharmacy business with the vision of “making the relationship with medical care easier.” They aim to solve issues in the allergy field, among others, and are working to improve the value of the healthcare experience for patients with pharmacists and other members who have first-hand experience with allergies.

English MBA Team Finalists

We were also excited to see Farmhand, a team from our English MBA, reach the finals for this year’s G-challenge. The representatives Myra Almilla, Atsuko Narukawa, Jeffrey Ramos, and Samantha Labrador aim for Farmhand to tackle Japan’s aging population and the lack of interest in farming in younger generations by connecting the surplus manpower in developing countries like the Philippines to Japan, empowering the farming industry by connecting skilled and dedicated workers with meaningful employment opportunities, fostering a culture of mutual respect and growth for all stakeholders.

Further Entrepreneurship Support at GLOBIS

The Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University, supports entrepreneurship in various ways, both in-school and post-graduation, including courses in “creation” which draw on successful examples of venture companies. We provide mentoring and support for those preparing to start their own businesses. Many current students and graduates who aspire to start their own businesses interact with each other through the GLOBIS Entrepreneur’s Club (GEC), a school-approved club activity with 3,129 members.

In October 2018, GLOBIS launched the GLOBIS Alumni Growth Investment (commonly known as G-GROWTH), an investment program for venture businesses started by current students or graduates. Under this program, GLOBIS invests up to 100 million yen per company on the condition that the company has raised a cumulative total of 100 million yen or more. As of today, we have invested in eight companies.

In addition, in April 2019, GLOBIS launched G-STARTUP, an accelerator program for startups aiming to become unicorn companies that are expected to grow into Japan’s leading venture companies in the future will be selected, and lectures will be given by successful entrepreneurs and venture support experts.

The group supports entrepreneurship, startup business development, and venture business growth through the G-CHALLENGE, G-STARTUP, and G-GROWTH programs, and it vigorously promotes the construction of a venture ecosystem.

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