Locations
Participants
Startups
Meet the startups that were selected to Meet the Tôshikas!
Coming soon.
Investors
“Tôshika” means “Investor” in Japanese. Meet the Tôshikas who will take part in our programme.
Samurai Incubate Africa
| Name: Rena YONEYAMA |
| Title: Partner |
| Company: Samurai Incubate Africa |
| Country: Japan |
| https://samurai-incubate-africa.asia/ |
Rena oversees all African investment activities at Samurai Incubate Africa and is behind most of the company’s 35 investments in notable startups such as Oneport, Yourparts, Hakki, Pricepally, and The Food Lab.
Prior to joining Samurai, Rena accumulated careers in corporate & development finance in Japanese governmental banks such as Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Between 2015-2018, she worked for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Morocco and was engaged in project formulation and management of infrastructure projects. She received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Waseda University in Japan and a Master of Science in Applied Economics from Cornell University in the U.S.A. She is fluent in English and French.
Social Impact Solutions (SIPS)
| Name: Yoshiki Sasaki |
| Title: CEO |
| Company: Social Impact Solutions (SIPS) |
| Country: Japan |
| https://sips-group.com/en/ |
Born in 1951, BE mechanical engineering (1973) and ME systems engineering (1976) at Kyoto University. Sales manager and engineer at Hitachi, Ltd. (Steel rolling plants, FA systems) Industry Consultant at SRI International (1988). Executive board member at Japan Asia Investment Co., Ltd (JAIC) (1996), 150 exits from Southeast Asian investment after Asian Crisis. Started first Japanese funds to invest in China (2001) and Vietnam (2006), distressed debt fund in Southeast Asia (2003), and first Japanese fund to invest in biotechnology (2003). Invested in Alibaba (2002) and was board member. After retiring from JAIC as senior managing director in 2008, he has been supervising growth funds to invest in Southeast Asia funded by Development Bank of Japan and a NEC subsidiary. Sasaki-san created several startups which were integrated under Social Impact Solutions Co., Ltd (2019). The group companies are active in 4 verticals: home healthcare, Food, Energy & mobility, and Education. SIPS also provides startup investment, accelerator management, and technology investment banking services.
| Name: Takayuki ‘Taka’ KUMAGAI |
| Title: Partner - CEO |
| Company: Technology Seed Incubation Co., Ltd. (a SIPS group company) |
| Country: Japan |
| https://tsi-japan.com/en/ |
Takayuki completed a doctoral program at Osaka University Graduate School, specializing in optical and condensed matter physics. While serving as a special researcher (DC1) at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), he engaged in research activities and played a role in launching several university-affiliated ventures. In 2015, he joined Technology Seed Incubation Co., Ltd., the predecessor of TSI Corporation. Progressing from executive officer to director, Takayuki assumed the role of CEO in November 2021.
Takayuki's responsibilities encompass business development and growth, with a focus on venture investments, hands-on support, promotion of JST's START program, acting as a catalyst for NEDO's initiatives, facilitating collaborations between major corporations and startups, M&A advisory roles, and supporting fundraising efforts. Additionally, as the Representative Director of JAVIS Ventures Co., Ltd., Takayuki oversees investment and nurturing activities for ventures in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, with a growing interest in Africa.