#06: Should Startups Care About ESG? Kathy Matsui On Launching Japan’s First ESG-focused VC

Welcome to another episode of The Coral Capital Podcast, a show about startups, technology, and venture capital with a focus on Japan and Asia.

In this episode, we chat with Kathy Matsui, General Partner of MPower Partners, Japan’s first ESG-focused VC founded in 2021. Most people will know her for coining the term "Womenomics" in her groundbreaking report published when she was at Goldman Sachs. Her research put gender diversity front and center of Japanese government policies in the years that followed.

She was chosen by The Wall Street Journal as one of the "10 Women to Watch in Asia" and was also named to Bloomberg Markets magazine’s “50 Most Influential” list in 2014.

In this episode we discuss:

• How and why Kathy came to Japan as a Japanese American
• Her experience working at financial institutions in Tokyo
• Why she loves Japanese office attire
• What drove Kathy to author her influential report on “womenomics”
• Changes Japan has seen in terms of women’s labor market participation
• Tailwinds to raise an ESG-focused fund in Japan
• Why startups should care about ESG
• Practical applications of ESG at startups

If you enjoy this episode, please make sure to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts.