Empowering Fintech Startups in Japan

We live in a global financial system, but fintech innovation is surprisingly local. Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab, has been leading financial innovation Japan for over 20 years, long before the term fintech existed. We talk about the evolution of Japan's fintech landscape, and which fintech sectors are facing consolidation and which are facing growth. And we also explore Japan's rapid transition from a cash-based society to a cashless one and the startup opportunities that opens up. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes The critical role of a dedication fintech community Why corporate support is still needed to succeeded in fintech in Japan The government's push to move society away from cash The likely fate of today's e-payment startups Opportunities for fintech startups in the next five years How AI is being used in Japanese banks (you won’t like it) Advice for how startups can successfully collaborate with large financial institutions What is preventing Japanese fintech startups from going global?  The kinds of foreign fintech startups with the best chance for success in Japan How to know when you are at the peak of the fintech investing cycle? What foreigners most misunderstand about Japan’s fintech markets Links from our Guest Everything you ever wanted to know about FinoLab The FinoLab startup community Connect with Makoto on LinkedIn Friend him on Facebook An interview with Makoto on Xtech Ergomania article on the rise of fintech in Japan Fortune innovation Forum on fintech in Japan [Video] Japan FinTech Topics YouTube playlist [Japanese]   Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight Talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero and thanks for joining me. FinTech is a broad and confusing startup sector. It's a sweeping category that encompasses everything from pragmatic and meticulous applications, like the optimization and risk management of consumer loan portfolios to the most hype driven and outrageously transparent crypto scams. Of course, at Disrupting Japan, we focus on Japan. And so today we'll be sitting down with Makoto Shibata, the head of FinoLab and the FinoLab Fund. Now, FinoLab has been central to Japan's FinTech community for a long time, and today we're going to take a sober look at FinTech in Japan. What's working, what's not, and what's likely to blow up in the near future. Equally important, before running FinoLab, Makoto spent 23 years at a Japanese mega bank and was in charge of their innovation activities. So, he offers some very practical advice on how FinTech startups can partner with financial institutions in Japan. He explains why such partnerships are needed and where they can go wrong. Makoto and I dig into how Japan is rapidly becoming a cashless society, the opportunities that trend presents for FinTech startups in Japan, and the importance and challenges of Japanese FinTech startups trying to go global and oh, yes, we also talk about what is perhaps the worst possible business use of generative AI ever to be deployed. But, you know, Makoto tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So, we're sitting here with Makoto Shibata of FinoLab. So, thanks for sitting down with me. Makoto: Thank you for having me. Tim: So, FinoLab is a community. It's much more than just the fund, but to start things out, tell me about the fund and its thesis. Who are you investing in and why? Makoto: We started from a business community, we realized that one of the top priority startup is to raise fund. And in their early stages, they may have difficulty, and we thought that it would be good to have our own fund to support these startups. So, basically we would focus on the early stage startup in FinTech related areas. These days FinTech has become quite wide. The territory of FinTech is expanding.