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APT Women ACCELERATION PROGRAM IN TOKYO FOR WOMEN

Staff Blog

28-02-2019Event ReportBriefing session on the 3rd Cohort Program Was Held

APT Women held briefing session on the 3rd Cohort Program at Tokyo International Forum from 6 p.m. February 21, 2019.
The event was attended by the event host and Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike, participants of the 1st to 3rd Cohort Programs, and many visitors.
After a brief explanation of the APT Women Program and the 3rd Cohort Program, a senior entrepreneur and President of Asia Herb Association Co., Ltd., Yumiko Kase, gave a speech titled “The Secrets to Successful Female Entrepreneurship.” In addition, Mr. Mitsunobu Okada, CEO of ASTROSCALE PTE. LTD., and Ms. Pocket Sun, Founding Partner at SoGal Ventures, gave encouragement to the program participants.
Ms. Kase’s message to the participants was very powerful. She shared how she had dealt with different problems after she flew to Thailand with few connections and funds. Despite all of this, she said that she believed that there was always a way if you stay strong, never give up, and never forget your smile and gratitude.
Mr. Okada warmly encouraged the participants to let him know whenever they were ready to open their business in Singapore. Ms. Sun assured the participants that they will definitely see success one day if they never give up, even though they may be experiencing a lot of struggles since they started their businesses.

Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike said in her speech that the APT Women’s role is to give a gentle push to the female entrepreneurs who need it. She also encouraged the participants to use the inspiration they found during the domestic and overseas programs for their personal development, stating that the accumulation of such personal efforts will be the key to the sustainable development of Tokyo.

After that, we had a speech from Hiroyuki Nakayama, Chairman of the Economic/Port and Harbor Committee , Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. He expressed his expectations for the future of the program participants, stating that the power of female and other diverse workers will be essential in bringing about the vigorous development of Japanese society.

The 3rd Cohort Program participants (Ms. Fumiko Kato from WAmazing Inc., Ms. Junko Balducci from BALDUCCI CO., LTD. and Ms. Rie Kawano from COGNITEE Inc.) presented their achievements in the domestic programs and the dispatch program to Singapore.
Ms. Kato did not have much knowledge about business management when she started her company, as she had only worked as an employee of a large company until then. Through the APT Women Program, she was able to systematically learn business management and increase media exposure, which provided her with opportunities to scale up her business.
Ms. Balducci decided to expand her business to Singapore through the dispatch program. She shared how she was moved when she heard Singaporean people saying that they believed the country’s most precious resources were people like themselves.
Through the dispatch program to Singapore, Ms. Kawano found that there was demand for her service in Singapore, which she did not see much in Japan. She said that this discovery was a major step for her, which empowered her to move forward towards her goal of expanding her business to Singapore.

After briefing session, Governor of Tokyo Koike and the participants of the 1st to 3rd Cohort Programs took photos together.
We appreciate your continued and warm support for the participants!