Tokyo Financial Award 2024: Announcement of Applicants Selected in the First Stage Screening for the Financial Innovation Category Support Program

With the aim to grow Tokyo into an “Innovation and Finance Hub in Asia,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is working on initiatives to transform the city into the leading city for sustainable finance and the city where global startups are born.

For this fiscal year’s Tokyo Financial Award Financial Innovation Category*, the TMG accepted applications from a record 136 companies. The following is a list of the 16 companies that have passed the first stage screening and will move on to participate in our Support Program.

*A business plan contest that recognizes ideas making use of the latest financial technology to offer solutions for the societal issues facing Tokyo residents and society at large

1. Companies selected in first-stage screening (listed in alphabetical order, juridical personalities omitted)

 

Company name	Services details (to succeed in)
Descartes Underwriting (France)	Provides companies and public-sector organizations with parametric insurance* dedicated to natural disasters and extreme weather *A type of insurance in which clients are swiftly indemnified with pre-determined benefits, following the triggering of a pre-defined event
Egregium	Develops a robo-advisor service that takes full advantage of AI and algorithms for investment management, allowing clients to make investments that align with their life plans and objectives
Everimpact (France)	Provides a one-stop platform that enables monitoring, reporting and analysis of GHG emissions by cities and businesses
Fivot	Utilizes a proprietary credit model to predict the outlook of a startup’s business. The company applies this model to develop a new service that pays for business expenses on behalf of companies, and collects these expenses in installments at a later date
GarageBank	Develops a proprietary screening system powered by machine learning to provide a service that allows clients to easily obtain appraisal for and sell their assets, including electronic or brand-name items, via a smart phone application
GeNiE	Provides a service that allows retailers and other businesses to effortlessly embed lending functions into the sales of their products and expand their overall sales
Graphen (US)	Utilizes AI-powered digital humans that mimic the experience of human intelligence in customer service and back office roles in banks and other financial institutions
Infcurion	Provides a service that allows companies to make a deferred payment in various methods of inter-company transactions, thereby improving overall cash flow and business efficiency
Japan GX Group	Supports companies to promote GX as well as promotes carbon neutral and nature-positive initiatives within Japan by developing and managing markets for carbon credits trading and providing major companies with GX consulting
Lifenet insurance	Utilizes the MyNumber system to streamline the insurance underwriting process and to completely eliminate unpaid benefits
MILIZE	Provides an AI-powered service that can swiftly offer an appraisal for artwork without any human involvement by assessing data of previous transactions, thereby stimulating activity in the art market
Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management	Offers a service that uses digital securities to allow users to invest in alternative assets including real estate through a systematic investment plan, proving further avenues for investment
Ownership	Develops a system that enables the issuer of digital securities to provide investors with unique security tokens and bolsters relationships between issuers and investors
Trust	Develops and provides an AI-powered service to demystify the specifications of antiquated and complex legacy banking systems and to support update those systems to the latest systems. Enables financial institutions to reduce their technical burden and lead time up to system updates
Wattcrowd (UK)	Provides unique opportunities for individuals to purchase solar panels for profit. Individuals can lease the solar panels back to the company to receive returns and gain new investment opportunities for their portfolio.
WeavAir (Singapore)	Provides banks and asset management businesses with tools to analyze global real-time environmental data, such as GHG emissions and climate-event risks, by utilizing systems that combine predictive networks of satellites and drones

2. Schedule

Companies selected in the first-stage screening will refine and elaborate their business ideas through the Award’s Support Program (including mentorship, business matching, overseas PR and communication).
Awards will be granted to the top three companies selected in the subsequent final screening. The details regarding the award ceremony will be announced at a later date.

 

Please see the Tokyo Financial Award website (https://www.finaward.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/) for details.