Collaboration with Rikkyo University

Social Innovation Japan launched a collaboration with Rikkyo University this semester, as part of the university’s "Knowledge, Design, and Innovation" course!

After an initial talk by Representative Director Robin Lewis about the social entrepreneurship scene in Japan, as well as our work as Social Innovation Japan and mymizu, the class was divided into groups.

Each group then spent several weeks doing a deep dive into the topic, with the aim of answering the question "how can we better encourage and support social entrepreneurs from universities across Japan?"

This week's final presentations showcased their impressive findings and recommendations, including case studies of Social Business support systems in other countries like Kenya.

This seems to have come at a perfect time; just this week, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Investment (METI) launched a major student Social Entrepreneurship accelerator, demonstrating just how important this topic is for Japan's future!

Thank you to the faculty of Rikkyo University for inviting us to participate in this important discussion. Connecting with the students was truly wonderful and we’re eager to see where their insights lead us next!