BS1-34

Day 1

17:15-18:30

Co-creation

Co-Creation Models for Implementing Sustainable Future Value

Set against the theme of SB’26, “Adapt and Accelerate,” this session explores how regions, startups, and corporations collaborate to design and implement co-creation initiatives for addressing social challenges. MITSUBISHI ESTATE RESIDENCE Co., Ltd. will present its partnership with the city of Odate in Akita Prefecture, which incorporates reforestation costs into timber utilization and demonstrates a model linking forest resources with urban development. STARTUP HOKKAIDO will share its efforts to connect regional challenges with startup technologies through public-private collaboration and open innovation. In addition, the Company Creation approach advocated by Takaaki Umada highlights how diverse players jointly lead idea generation and strategic design to create new business opportunities and social value, while exploring principles for co-creation ecosystems and pathways toward implementation.

Speaker

Facilitator

So Sugawara

Catalyst
Sustainable Brands TOKYO

Chief Director
Green innovation Inc

Takaaki Umada

Director, FoundX
The University of Tokyo

Takaaki Umada is a director at FoundX, the official startup accelerator program at the prestigious University of Tokyo. With over a decade of experience supporting software developers and startup founders, Umada brings deep expertise in startup support, including navigating public affairs and regulatory matters.
Prior to his current role, Umada held positions at Microsoft Japan as a product manager and technical evangelist. In 2016, he transitioned to the University of Tokyo, where he founded and led Hongo Tech Garage before launching FoundX in 2019. He is the author of “Paradoxical Startup Thinking,” “Successful Entrepreneurs Choose Where to Stay,” “Implementing the Future,” “Raising Your Resolution, “Hypothesis-driven Doing.”

Kyohei Fujima

Executive Director
STARTUP HOKKAIDO Executive Committee

Born in Sapporo. In 2018, while working at The Hokkaido Shimbun Press, he participated in the launch of a startup support company. Since then, he has spearheaded numerous startup-related projects within Hokkaido, including the establishment of region-specific accelerators and public-private incubation facilities.
In 2022, he founded DRIVE Incubation with the goal of building a startup ecosystem in Hokkaido. In 2023, he was appointed to the secretariat of STARTUP HOKKAIDO, a collaborative organization involving the public and private sectors. In 2024, he joined UntroD Capital Japan, a firm specializing in ” REAL TECH FUND”, as the Region Manager for Hokkaido. He remains dedicated to fostering a robust startup ecosystem in Hokkaido through the discovery and cultivation of regional technical seeds.