Activity Report
ICF Interim Meeting Held
The ICF 2022 Interim Meeting was held in a hybrid format on November 17 to focus on active co-creation activities. More than 100 people attended in person and online. Once again, the ICF Secretariat would like to thank all those who participated in and watched the meeting.
After the meeting, a networking event was held for in-person participants. It was very exciting with a lively exchange of ideas and networking among the speakers and other participants.
A meeting report and an archived video of the day are available. Please click the links below:
・Meeting report (Japanese)
・Archive video (members only) (Japanese)
Note: Since this video is for ICF members only, a password is required to watch it.
BAP Peer Meeting Held
The seven finalists attended a peer meeting on November 15th to share their businesses ideas and receive additional advice.
Dr. Tomy Kamada, CEO and Founder of TomyK Ltd. (and also an ICF advisor), gave the finalists feedback on their presentations, focusing on their business challenges and future directions. Dr. Kamada, a pioneer of mobile Internet, is also the co-founder of ACCESS CO., LTD., and is currently engaged in supporting many entrepreneurs, including technology-related startups. His comments about achieving commercialization and business expansion were incisive.
The finalists have demonstrated great diversity in their business areas, stages, societal issue targets, market environments, and business models. However, startups creating businesses to resolve societal issues broadly have a great deal in common with each other in terms of challenges and things to be done in the process of achieving early monetization and product-market fit. The meeting allowed the finalists to examine together the challenges and future direction of each business, which will greatly help their development. ICF members can look forward to future co-creation projects.
Future Co-Creation Projects (FCPs) on Priority Themes Have Begun
The ICF has started its Future Co-creation Projects (FCPs), focusing on its three priority themes: Wellness, Dietary Innovation, and Climate Change Measures.
Note: An FCP is a project to clarify and establish themes for societal issues that need to be resolved and to create a societal impact through regular workshop activities.
１．Wellness
The third round was held on November 28. First, Dr. Hiroyuki Shimada, the Director of the Center for Gerontology and Social Science at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, gave a lecture on the overview of research conducted to date and on his ongoing study titled Sustainable Prevention of Social Isolation and Loneliness through the Establishment of the IKIGAI Volunteer System. After a Q&A session, participants discussed the following two themes, continuing from the previous round: (1) offering health programs that naturally encourage behavior change and (2) business ideas utilizing social health, which is an indicator consisting of criteria such as the status of health behaviors and contribution activities, the willingness to engage in these behaviors and activities, and the maintenance of mental health.
The fourth round will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2023. Details will be announced later.
２．Dietary Innovation
The third round was held on November 25. Atsuya Enoki of NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. and Takamitsu Okamura of Accenture Japan Ltd. presented topics on Examples of AI Utilization in Diet and What the Food Industry Should Do, respectively. After a Q&A session, the participants were divided into groups for discussion. These covered dietary personalization, including the need for targeting and higher accuracy in the first place, how to utilize evidence in repeat experiments, and potential in gastronomy.
The fourth round will be held on Wednesday January 18, 2023. Details will be announced later.
３．Climate Change Measures
The third round was held on November 30. Before participants discussed business hypotheses, Weihao Hung of TechThinker Inc., a company that is working in this area as a startup, and Kosuke Yanagida of Aidemy Inc. shared overviews of their businesses and challenges. The participants then identified business ideas that should be further explored, based on those developed by the ICF Secretariat, and discussed their viability.
The fourth round will be held from 3 pm to 5:15 pm on Monday, December 19 to further improve the ideas discussed in the third round. The third round was livelier with more people participating in person than online. The Secretariat hopes to see participants face-to-face at the venue of the fourth round as well.
Upcoming Activities (December)
[Registration for Attendance Open] ICF-Business Acceleration Program (BAP) 2022: Final Pitch Contest (Dec 9th)
The final Pitch Contest of the ICF-Business Acceleration Program (BAP) 2022 will be held as below. A total of 147 proposals were submitted for BAP 2022, and seven finalists were selected in mid-October after two rounds of screening. Currently, the finalists are refining their business ideas with the help of MRI researchers and consultants in preparation for the final Pitch Contest. ICF is aiming to commercialize and expand these business ideas while utilizing internal and external resources. Each finalist, who is addressing an important and major societal issue, will present a proposal focused on delivering a sustainable solution through their business. ICF members are invited to attend the final judging and use it as an opportunity for co-creation with the finalists.
Those interested can register from the URL below.
■Date: 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm on Friday, December 9, 2022 (Admittance begins at 1:00 pm).
■Delivery method: Live streaming over the Internet. Up to two people from each Co-Creating Member organization are invited to participate in person.
■Expected participants: The finalists, ICF members, and other companies and individuals invited by MRI
■Details (scheduled)
| 1:00 pm | Admittance opens |
| 1:30 pm – 1:35 pm | Opening address and promotional video |
| 1:35 pm – 4:00 pm | Final Pitch Contest (presentations by seven finalists) New Ordinary K.K., UPWARD, Inc., Tailor Works Inc., Study Valley Inc., Ninpath Inc., UNTRACKED LLC, and Anzaikantetsu Co., Ltd. |
| 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Audience voting and introduction of ICF activities |
| 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Announcement of results and closing address |
Note: After the closing address, an in-person networking session will be held until 6:30 pm.