17-03-2018Event ReportBriefing session on the 1st Cohort Program and kickoff event for the 2nd Cohort Program were held!

APT Women held a briefing session on the first Cohort Program and a kickoff event for the 2nd Cohort Program at the Tokyo International Forum from 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.

The event was attended by the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, who is the organizer of the event, along with 20 participants in the domestic and overseas dispatch programs of the first season, 10 participants in the second season programs who had won a very competitive screening, and many other visitors.

The event started off with an explanation of the overview of the program given by the secretariat office, followed by briefings of the results of the first season programs. Then, we heard words of encouragement from Mack Burnett at New York University, a partner university of the program, Diana Franco at Women Entrepreneurs NYC, Meyumi Yamada, a program graduate and the CQO of istyle Inc., and Rie Yano, the cofounder and CEO of Material World.

Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike stated in her speech that she was delighted to see the participants in the first season getting opportunities for overseas business expansion and business growth through the program. She also reaffirmed the purpose of the program and expressed her expectations for the participants, stating that we should all work toward a Tokyo that is capable of nurturing and empowering many more female entrepreneurs through the program.

Following her speech, the President of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly gave a remark where he stated that he was delighted to have an opportunity to rediscover the significance, importance and value of the program by directly hearing the results of the first season program.

Program participants, Kazumi Takao from OPTIMUS Inc., Yuriko Oda from the specified non-profit corporation PADM, and Yukiko Ito from ZEST Inc. gave briefings on the domestic programs and New York dispatch in the first season.

In the briefings, Ms. Takao reported that she decided to expand her business to New York within a year, while Ms. Oda shared the effect of the program, stating that she could confidently pitch her business overseas as she had learned pitch skills in English through the program. Ms. Ito stated that she has been blessed with many miraculous encounters during the program, which has given her a strong foundation for growing her business and accelerating the process for overseas expansion.

The second season program will start in April! We cannot wait to see how all the participants will grow through the program.