Headline Asia
Headline Asia invests in Wald Japan, which operates NEXT HERO, a job ordering platform for people with disabilities
From encounter at IVS LAUNCHPAD to investment
As a member of Headline, Headline Asia (former name: Infinity Ventures), which conducts global investment activities mainly in Asia, is Wald Japan Co., Ltd., which operates the job ordering platform “NEXT HERO” specializing in people with disabilities and other people who have difficulty working. We have invested in a company
(headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takaya Ono; hereinafter referred to as our company).
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NEXT HERO, a job ordering and ordering platform specializing in people with difficulty working, promoting DX/SX
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“NEXT HERO” is a “continued employment support office” (more than 1,500 offices) that provides employment opportunities and training to people with disabilities, etc. It is a service that conducts interviews, converts the contents into data, and based on that data, optimally distributes jobs ordered from private companies, government agencies, etc. to work continuation support offices.
“NEXT HERO” service site: https://www.valt-japan.com/next-hero “NEXT HERO” has continued to grow, doubling both annual sales and number of employees since the fundraising in June 2021. As a service that promotes DX / SX of support facilities where people with difficulty working and ordering companies work, we are creating “new connections” through work and improving the career and wages of people with difficulty working.
In order to accelerate the NEXT HERO business, this funding will be used to develop the NX (NEXT HERO) system, a database that promotes the visualization of the abilities of people with disabilities and the maximization of their disability characteristics, and the development of the product team that accompanies it. We will use it to launch, strengthen recruitment, and strengthen the business of our own customized logistics center “EC HERO” specializing in EC / D2C. How the investment came about
▶ Comment from Mr. Takaya Ono, Representative Director of Wald Japan Co., Ltd. [Image 3
This time, we have received high praise for the growth potential and social significance of our “NEXT HERO” business, which aims to solve social issues by connecting people with disabilities and other people who have difficulty working and corporate issues, and will raise Series A round funding. I was able to. We are proud to have received high expectations as a company that can change society globally, and we are very grateful to all the people involved, including our employees and those working at employment support facilities. The impetus for the “NEXT HERO” concept was when I was an MR for a pharmaceutical company, and I was shocked by the fact that patients with mental illness who participated in patient associations had a common problem of “not having a successful experience at work.” That’s how it all started. After that, we launched the job ordering platform “NEXT HERO” in order to build a system that connects “those who have difficulty finding jobs to play an active role through work” and “corporate growth”. Through the expansion of our business, by matching the content of work with the characteristics of a disability, even people with disabilities can demonstrate their skills in the same way as non-disabled people, and in some cases, they can demonstrate higher skills. It has been clarified that collaboration between the two will reduce overtime hours and will be an effective means of creating an environment for working on new jobs in the DX/SX*1 era. It has been proved that “people who have difficulty in finding a job can become a force for work.”
Through this funding, we will incorporate the power of technology in order to establish a platform in society that balances the resolution of social issues and corporate growth. increase.
*1: SX: Identify opportunities and risks by backcasting changes in ESG (environment, society, and governance) that will be required by society in the future. A management strategy that enhances “potential” and “resilience”
▶Comments from Headline Asia
Headline Asia Principal / IVS CEO Toshiaki Shimakawa
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I met Mr. Ono last year at the IVS LAUNCHPAD held in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. Among the speakers, it was very impressive that he gave a passionate presentation. VALT JAPAN has both the social significance of supporting the employment of people with disabilities and growth potential as a startup. In Japan, there should still be a way for people with disabilities and offices to play an active role, i.e., a market. We will do our best to provide support based on Headline’s global knowledge and experience in startup building that has created new employment.
VALT JAPAN Co., Ltd. Company Profile
Company name: VALT JAPAN Co., Ltd.
Business description: “NEXT HERO”, a job ordering and ordering platform specialized for people with disabilities and other people who have difficulty working, “EC HERO”, an in-house customized logistic center specializing in EC/D2C, public-private partnership business, employment support business for people with disabilities
Representative Director: Takaya Ono
Established: August 1, 2014
Location: 〒100-0013 1-4-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nittochi Building 2F URL: https://www.valt-japan.com/
About Headline Asia (formerly known as Infinity Ventures)
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Headline Asia (former name: Infinity Ventures) is a global independent venture capital fund that manages a total of 27 billion yen in 4 funds mainly in Asia. We have a wide range of networks in Japan and overseas, and by making the most of this network, members with a track record of success in venture management and investment will provide information such as discovering investment projects and support the management of investees. We aim to maximize corporate value. Representative investments include freee WealthNavi, which recently IPOed, Jimoty, 17LIVE, Groupon, Yeahka, FARFETCH, and 36kr.
In May 2021, we rebranded to Headline together with e.ventures, which invests in the United States and Europe and has been in a cooperative relationship to discover unicorns globally for 10 years. As Headline Asia, Infinity Ventures will continue to focus on investment strategies in Asia, with a focus on Japan.
Headline: https://headline.com/
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000016.000084461.html