Mr. Tomoo Inoue, Executive Secretary of Ridilover, Inc./Ridilover, general incorporated association
/Ridilover, general incorporated association
Many people may think that societal issues have nothing to do with them individually. Once they understand the context, however, they often realize that these issues may have something to do with them or those close to them. Ridilover, Inc. and Ridilover, general incorporated association, develop businesses focusing on all kinds of societal issues. This is an interview with Mr. Tomoo Inoue, the Executive Secretary of the company and general incorporated association, about the commercialization of societal issues.
―What is the commercialization of societal issues?
For example, societal issues such as plastic waste, food loss, shoplifting addiction, dog and cat slaughter, female social withdrawal, and postpartum depression are well known. However, their context is complicated, and it is not easy to find clues to solutions.
Under the banner of making societal issues accessible to everyone, we are developing various businesses in each step of the problem-solving process, from problem identification to dissemination to society and resource input, all while emphasizing the importance of structuring.
In the dissemination step, for example, we offer study tours for junior and senior high school students. In fiscal year 2022, about 8,000 students participated.
―Do you offer services for adults as well?
For companies, we also offer leadership training in a form of cross-border learning. Participants will visit a site where a societal issue exists and will experience how difficult it is to set goals for resolving something complex without immediate or clear correct answers. Such a situation requires considering not only the rational aspects of the problem but also the psychological subtleties. This helps participants learn skills and mindsets for value creation, which are difficult to acquire through regular operational work alone.
―Are there any projects to which you are committed all the way through to solutions?
Yes, there are. We are helping central government agencies and large corporations in creating new businesses and shared value based on societal issues. These agencies and corporations include the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Toyota Motor Corporation, MITSUBISHI ESTATE Co., Ltd., NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd., The Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated, and Seino Transportation Co., Ltd. Please note that we do not associate with them as part of our corporate social responsibility efforts but consider all these projects as business projects.
Even though there are various societal issues, many companies feel distant from them. In addition, companies with certain focus areas often struggle to find the starting point to work on relevant societal issues. So, we play the role of a pilot who comes up with concrete measures with them.
―Could you give us a specific example?
One example is a demonstration project for a dementia-inclusive society. This was originally a service demonstration project of METI in cooperation with NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. with the aim of commercializing a VR online travel service for dementia patients.
The idea is that the realization of a world where elderly people with dementia can go wherever they want will improve the well-being of both the patients and those who care for them. We have set up a system that can also monetize the service and are aiming to implement it in the future.
―Generating money from societal issues is considered difficult by most, but what do you think?
We believe that visualizing societal issues will create new industries. In the case of the online travel service for dementia patients I mentioned earlier, let’s say a 2-hour online tour costs 5000 yen. If there is a person who is looking forward to taking the tour once a month, sales for 12 months will be 60,000 yen. Statistics have shown that the number of dementia patients will increase to 10 million, so we think the size of the market is considerable.
―So you’re going to be an industry innovator.
An industry is created when a business has business potential, which is first visualized by the business and then once those around the issue find the business and enter the market. As with the convenience store industry, healthy competition among companies has a positive impact on society as a whole. Therefore, we believe that even other companies’ entry is welcome.
In the meantime, design for differences in experience aren’t easy to imitate. This provides first-mover advantages. As they are networked, barriers will be formed, moving and “updating” an opportunity-based business to a business with barriers to competition.
―What are the techniques for creating a business that can resolve a societal issue?
The most important thing is whether the business is really creating value; in other words, whether it can contribute to resolving the societal issue by removing negative effects on people and those around them. If there is clear value to be created, then I think the only main remaining thing is to consider who will share the costs.
The most important thing is whether the business is really creating value; in other words, whether it can contribute to resolving the societal issue by removing negative effects on people and those around them. If there is clear value to be created, then I think the only main remaining thing is to consider who will share the costs.
In addition, the government is rapidly increasing the variety of cost-sharing schemes. These include the corporate version of the hometown tax donation program and the social impact bond (*1) as well as the pay-for-success scheme in a broad sense. The government is moving in the direction of accepting businesses that can more easily support value creation through joint projects, which provide more flexibility than through conventional, contracted projects.
―By the way, you also operate the Ridilover Journal, a subscription-based web media covering societal problems, right?
Yes, each employee chooses a theme relevant to the societal problem that they want to structure or that many people find important and often see and hear but don’t understand structurally.
For example, the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe has brought attention to the “second generation of religion,” but many people do not understand the structure of this issue or the means to resolve it. We believe that it’s important to visualize these societal issues in a structured way.。
―In the visualization phase, are you conscious, to a degree, of the budgets of the national and local governments and your vision of business with them?
We also consider policy approaches as resources that can be used to resolve issues. However, since the Ridilover Journal is a somewhat specialized media, we are working on it with the intention of conducting research on the themes we set.
We have some projections when we start, but each time we bring back primary information, we verify and modify our hypotheses one by one, finding that a system often doesn’t work or that our focus was wrong and needs to be altered. After this refinement, we reach a solid conclusion.
For example, some parents in poor families are financially dependent on their children. In such cases, the issue can be resolved more effectively by providing support for the children as well as helping the parents become independent of their children and take care of themselves.
―I see. However, you choose themes from a more business-like perspective when approaching companies, right?
It’s true that companies don’t have the authority to legislate or freely allocate the national budget, so their focus is narrow compared to that of the government. For example, while the government can engage in human rights education and enlightenment, it is quite difficult for a company to do so successfully as a business. Therefore, we usually explore themes by considering what type of value creation is compatible with the latent strengths a company has inherently as well as creates a large societal impact.
―To end off, could you leave a message for our readers?
Some people are in a situation where environmental factors and social conditions that are not necessarily attributable to them individually have accumulated, making it difficult to manage by themselves alone. We’d like to change this situation. If you’re interested, we hope you’ll read the Ridilover Journal, which we keep running with nothing but overwhelming enthusiasm. In addition, we will be holding Ridifes 2022 in November in Shinjuku, a fun festival event where you can spend a whole day learning about societal issue themes. We hope you will join us!
Japan’s one of the largest conferences on societal issues
https://ridifes.com/
*1. An investment scheme to resolve societal issues in which administrative agencies, private business operators, funders, and other entities work together to tackle highly public projects
| Company name：Ridilover, Inc./Ridilover, general incorporated association |
| Founded：March 2013/June 2012 |
| Number of employees：35 |
| Main businesses：Web media and community business dealing with societal issues, education and training business related to societal issues, conference business, education business, and collaborations with other companies and government offices/Study tour and school trip business and web media planning and operation URL：https://ridilover.jp |
This article is part of a series of articles introducing venture companies working together as ICF members to resolve societal issues.