Sumitomo Real Estate Co., Ltd.
“GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” will open on April 1, 2024, contributing to the development of Kyoto’s economy through collaboration between industry, academia, and the public.
GROWTH, an incubation office for startups, enters Kansai for the first time ……
Sumitomo Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Hirojun Nijima) has established a facility in Kyoto within the Kyoto Kawaramachi Garden in order to support and foster the next generation of startup companies and entrepreneurs in Kyoto. We are pleased to inform you that GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi, a new incubation office in collaboration with the city, will open on April 1, 2024. Our company has been holding networking events to connect startups, venture capital, and operating companies, and we are working to support startups by providing the GROWTH series of offices with low initial costs. “GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi”, which is the first foray into Kansai for the “GROWTH” series, is an incubation office that rents seats that are easy to use even for startup companies, and is expected to attract not only startup companies, but also venture capital, business companies, and students. It is also expected to promote open innovation within the country.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/46698/17/resize/d46698-17-90407a70b5dd6b84dcaa-0.jpg&s3=46698-17-725fc0c8022ee675ccce79bb5069d929-3900×2194.jpg] “Kyoto Kawaramachi Garden” exterior
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“GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” office image
Startups in Kyoto are seeking funding and collaboration opportunities through interaction with venture capitals and operating companies in Tokyo, while venture capitals and operating companies are aiming to discover startups that provide cutting-edge services. In addition, by having talented students from Kyoto move in, the center will become a real information source for students interested in entrepreneurship and startups, while also contributing to the acquisition of human resources for startups and venture capital firms, allowing us to meet mutual needs. It is a facility.
In the future, “GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” will be used by a variety of people, and by promoting exchanges among diverse human resources, startups, venture capital, etc., we will contribute to the sustainable development of Kyoto’s startup ecosystem and the revitalization of the Kyoto economy. It is expected that this will contribute to the development of
Background to the opening of “GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi”
1. Supporting startup companies in Kyoto
In Kyoto, many companies dealing with precision instruments and semiconductors have been established since the postwar period. In recent years, university-originated startup companies have been born one after another from educational institutions in the city, including Kyoto University, and Kyoto is once again attracting attention as a “city where technology is born.”
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Technology start-up companies require large capital investments for technology development and mass production, and one of the important issues is financing. Currently, funding for Japanese startups is concentrated in Tokyo (approximately 79%), and local startups need to overcome this barrier. Regarding the exit format of startups in Japan, although the number of M&A is on the rise, the overall scale of IPOs is small compared to Western countries, and there are few
opportunities for M&A, so it is considered a problem that development is not progressing. It has been. To overcome this problem, it is important for operating companies and startups to collaborate in business and promote open innovation.
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Against this background, at GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi, we support the sustainable growth of startups by matching startups in Kyoto with venture capital, financial institutions, and business companies. For example, by making GROWTH Shinjuku, Mita, Iidabashi, Kudanshita and GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi, the five facilities that our company is developing in central Tokyo, mutually available, we will be able to create venture businesses that previously would not have been possible without traveling to Tokyo. We will provide a wide range of support, including creating encounters with capital and business companies. Utilizing the knowledge we have gained through continuous business matching events that connect startups, operating companies, and venture capital, we aim to develop and introduce excellent services for startups that can solve specific issues faced by operating companies. We will provide consistent support with the aim of realizing large-scale IPOs and M&A.
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“GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” entrance image
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“GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” interior image
2. Connecting students in Kyoto with startups and venture capital A feature of Kyoto City is that it has the highest student ratio among ordinance-designated cities (more than 10% of its citizens are students). There are many educational institutions in Kyoto City, including 36 universities (29) and junior colleges (7), with over 150,000 students. In this way, Kyoto City can be said to be a treasure trove of diverse human resources, including new graduates and interns, and is an extremely advantageous city in terms of acquiring important human resources for startup companies aiming for growth. “GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi” is the first facility in the “GROWTH” series that can also be used by students. By inviting students to events involving startups and venture capital, we will promote mutual matching and exchange and contribute to the acquisition of human resources for startups and venture capital.
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Kyoto City’s charm and support for business location
Kyoto City is one of the world’s most attractive cities, boasting outstanding recognition and ranking high in various city rankings both domestically and internationally. In 2020, it was selected as a “Global Hub City for the World-Class Startup Ecosystem Base Formation Strategy” promoted by the government, and the government, economic organizations, industry support organizations, universities, financial institutions, etc. come together and We are promoting a startup ecosystem that creates and nurtures entrepreneurs in Kyoto.
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In Kyoto City, we provide one-stop support from the stage of considering expansion, locating in the city, and business development after expansion. We have established a “first-to-in-the-city support system” (up to 500,000 yen) and a “first-in-the-city support system” (up to 20 million yen) to support those setting up their first office in the city.
In addition, we disseminate the information necessary for considering expansion through Kyo-working, a website for attracting companies that communicates the appeal of Kyoto’s business environment, and various seminars.At the stage of considering expansion, we provide support for securing offices, on-site inspections, and support for expansion. Afterwards, we provide a wide range of generous support to match the startup’s growth stage, such as collaboration and exchange projects with universities, local companies, students, etc.
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reference
GROWTH Kyoto Kawaramachi Property Overview/Location Map
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[Table 4: https://prtimes.jp/data/corp/46698/table/17_2_e4207a5b8cae59f700d4aa0951ce706e.jpg] History of Sumitomo Real Estate and Kyoto
Our company was established as a second company to inherit the remaining assets of the Sumitomo head office, which had gone into liquidation due to the dissolution of the zaibatsu after the war. What we inherited from the Sumitomo headquarters was 15 real estate properties including buildings, company housing, and dormitories, but only 3 buildings: Tokyo Sumitomo Building (completed in 1933, sold in 1978), Kobe Sumitomo Building (completed in 1934, sold in 1975) ) ・Kyoto Sumitomo Building (completed in 1937, rebuilt in 1976) was the only one. The Kyoto Sumitomo Building (currently Kyoto Kawaramachi Garden) is the only building we have owned since our company’s founding, and is an important building as it is one of our founding sites, as our main business is office building business.
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“Kyoto Sumitomo Building” before reconstruction
This building, which has been a beloved landmark of the Shijo Kawaramachi intersection for about half a century, has been rebuilt and renovated with the changing times. By setting up an incubation office here for startups and students who will be the next generation of Kyoto, we will bring a new breeze to Kyoto while also merging with ancient traditions and culture. We hope that innovation will be created.
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About the “GROWTH” series
In addition to over 230 buildings that we operate ourselves, our company owns many buildings in redevelopment areas in various parts of central Tokyo, and we are developing the “GROWTH” series by
temporarily using buildings that are scheduled to be demolished in the future. Doing.
This makes it possible to provide startup-friendly offices that are more price competitive than sublease-type shared offices. We are planning to open a total of 10 facilities, 8 in central Tokyo and 2 in Kyoto and Osaka, but the locations that are already in operation, such as Toranomon, Shibuya, and Roppongi, have been well-received, and we will eventually open more than 200 facilities. Start-up companies are expected to move in.
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Strengthening the attraction of startup companies
While financial support for startups has progressed through
contributions from the government and venture capital, building a startup ecosystem in real estate is still a long way off. Up until now, we have been attracting mid-to-later companies, but we are now working to attract more startups by developing offices that are easy for early seeds, who make up the majority of startups, to move in.
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[Press inquiries]
Sumitomo Real Estate Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department TEL: 03-3346-1042 More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000017.000046698.html