Two programs supporting startups and entrepreneurs in Japan have been successfully initiated in Yokohama by the new startup center YOXO BOX which was established by the City in October of 2019.
Applications for the YOXO Accelerator Program are available to startups doing business in Yokohama or willing to start/expand their business in Yokohama within three years. The program is welcoming early-stage startups from a wide variety of fields such as IT, AI, manufacturing with IoT, sports, and healthcare. 32 startups from not only Yokohama but Tokyo, Fukuoka, and other cities applied for the program, and 12 applicants were chosen for this cohort. Selected companies are aiming at creating new businesses within Yokohama and will be supported by dedicated, experienced mentors during the three-month acceleration program.
YOXO Innovation School is a widely-accessible education program held at the YOXO BOX center that will provide 10 lectures in total covering business planning, financing, organization development, procurement, pitch techniques, and more from January through March. The Innovation School aims at discovering and cultivating talented individuals capable of furthering IT/IoT technologies. Around 80 people from more than 100 applicants joined the first class in January.
The YOXO Accelerator Program and YOXO Innovation School are the first programs of the YOXO BOX startup support center. Ever since the Mayor of Yokohama declared her “Innovation City Yokohama” plan a year ago, Yokohama City has been rolling out plans to realize this vision of a more innovation-driven city, and the YOXO BOX center located in the Kannai district is one of the leading projects to attract startups to the district. In the near future, YOXO BOX and the Kannai district itself are expected to become hubs for a new community of innovators.
| Participants list of YOXO Accelerator Program | |
| atDose Co., Ltd. | Developing a mobile dosing and infusing device which can dose a very small amount precisely at a target point. |
| ICHI-SAN-NANA (137) | Streamlining school administration by developing “COCOO”, a communication and information sharing service between parents and the school |
| Willbox,Inc | Developing international logistics digital platform “Giho” |
| CROSS SYNC | Developing solutions to visualize the information of critically ill patients for sharing among medical professionals |
| SHOW CASE | Developing a cloud service to administer construction-related information |
| TrueBizon | Developing the service of “sora:share” which brokers the use of air rights for drones |
| DO THE SAMURAI | Developing a new project using its shrine visit records sharing website to attract people to local shrine and temples |
| Harch | Developing new project “Circular Yokohama” to promote a circular economy in Yokohama |
| Birumeshi | Expanding high protein frozen bento boxes “Birumeshi” supervised by dietitians for body builders. |
| FutuRocket | Streamlining SMEs’ business by developing an AI-powered smart camera which enables the tabulation of store/event visitors automatically. |
| Special participation (University student team) | |
| Miθra | Developing solutions for ticket scalping by using block chain technology to verify ticket ownership. |
| Special participation (Intrapreneurship team) | |
| Possi Development Team (Kyocera Minatomirai Research Center) | Developing musical toothbrush ”Possi” by using ceramic technologies to make tooth brushing enjoyable for children. |
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