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October 12, 2021
Office of the Governor for Policy Planning
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Tokyo Financial Award, Financial Innovation Category:
Participants for the Support Program Have Been Selected!
As one project in the “Global Financial City: Tokyo” Vision, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has been granting a prize to financial institutions who provide and develop innovative products and services that meet Tokyo citizens and businesspeople’ s needs and challenges, as well as those who work to promote ESG investments*1.
From July 1 to August 31, TMG has accepted applications for the “Financial Innovation Category” from financial companies who offer proposals which answer financial service needs and issues that have been brought up by Tokyo residents and business operators.
TMG has accepted applications from 88 companies, both domestic and from 25 countries and regions abroad. We are proud to announce that we have selected 6 domestic companies and 10 foreign companies which have passed the first round of screening and are eligible to enter the company support program.
*1 ESG (“Environmental, Social, Governance”) investment refers to investment decisions based on an institution’s proactive efforts such as combating global warming, empowering women, selecting outside directors, etc.
1 Outline of Support Program Participants
a. Domestic companies (in Japanese alphabetical order)
| CompanyName | Business Overview |
|---|---|
| AI-Credit Inc. | Through a smartphone app, suggests suitable payment methods for each user such as code payment or credit card payment. |
| ABCash Technologies Inc. | Provides financial literacy education through delivery of personalized content using AI. |
| Caulis Inc. | Provides cloud-based security for financial institutions that detects unauthorized access based on specific parameters when opening an account or logging in to a financial service website. |
| SORAMITSU CO., LTD. | Provides blockchain-based solutions to corporations, universities and governments through the creation of cross-border payment systems, the development of SORAMITSU’s own decentralized autonomous economy, etc. |
| Scheeme Inc. | Solves problems facing SMEs, such as complexity and insufficient information on financing, by providing a finance platform, Scheeme, that allows SMEs to collect information on institutional loans and public funds, as well as to access application materials and prepare documents in one place. |
| yup Inc. | Provides a SaaS-type service for SMEs and sole proprietors to enable them to perform automatic invoice data conversion and creation, payment processing, and data integration with accounting software. |
b. Companies from abroad (in alphabetical order)
| Company Name | Country | Business Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Alein Pay ehf. | Iceland | Automatic billing in real time with the use of smart contracts, results in better time value of money and minimizes the risk of bad debts, and provides automatic installment payment of B2B*2 transactions. |
| Cognitive View Pty Ltd. | Australia | Provides services that notify of problematic behaviors by monitoring external communication, and supports consolidation of operational risk / compliance risk. |
| CYBAVO Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | Delivers a suite of tools that secure transactions, ensure regulatory compliance, and enhance operational efficiency for enterprises. CYBAVO's solution uses cutting-edge cryptography and a shared risk and responsibility model to ensure secure digital asset operations. |
| G-Bank technologies OÜ | Estonia | Provides a personal control center for international workers in Japan, which operates a one-stop service to open bank accounts with partner banks and conduct other daily-life banking activities . |
| TechRules, S.A. | Spain | Leading consultancy and Wealth Management software provider for financial entities. Develops API based, modular and fully integrated solutions such as Customer Web Portals, complete Wealth Management Platforms, Robo Advisors, DIY solutions, and much more. |
| Tractable Ltd. | UK | Provides services using AI for non-life insurance companies to automate the damage assessment process for accidents and disasters, including automobile accidents. |
| T Stamp, Inc. | US | Provides AI technology that biometrically authenticates user identity from a video or still image and stores only an irreversibly anonymized identity token so that the user's identity is protected even if the token is lost or stolen. |
| Vroozi Inc. | US | Automates corporate operations such as ordering, billing, and payment. Provides a platform that enables buyers and suppliers to connect and complete transaction procedures online by providing marketplaces and digital catalogs. |
| Wallet Engine Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | Enables apps to seamlessly embed financial accounts into any user experience. This provides the foundation for contextual cross border peer-to-peer*3 payments, micro-finance, in-app economies, and everything in between. |
| Zelf Ltd. | US | Gen-Z focused neobank, which works in all messengers, allows you to have a virtual card in 30 seconds and banking services within one click, no ID required. Available via Apple Pay and Gpay. |
*2：Abbreviation for business to business, meaning business to business transactions
*3：Abbreviation for peer-to-peer, which means between equals, and refers to the concept of performing inspection and logging based on the assumption that all traffic is untrustworthy
2 Implementation of the Support Program
Going forward, for the 16 businesses selected, we plan to implement a support program which will include mentorship programs, business matching opportunities, development environments (office space) and support of overseas promotion. Following the final round of selections, we grant awards to three firms. The details regarding the award ceremony will be announced at a later date.
*TMG does not provide guarantee for services proposed by companies participating in the support program.
3 Schedule (planned)
- Oct – Dec.
Implementation of support program - Dec.
Final selection round - Early Feb.
Award ceremony
Please see the Tokyo Financial Award website for details.
*Please click here for the original Japanese article.
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