* This article is republished from the WIT (currently World in You) website (May 16, 2016).

WIT selected four social entrepreneurs to provide management support and launches strategic partnership with one social venture, in addition to its current portfolio of six social entrepreneurs, on May 13th, 2016.

These eleven social ventures, together with twenty leaders from diverse fields in the for-profit, nonprofit, and public sectors in the US and Japan, will participate in Cross-Sector Learning Journey that WIT hosts this July in Tohoku.

WIT has supported social entrepreneurs in Tohoku since 2011 July in areas including community development, poverty alleviation, women empowerment, preventive eldercare and more. Five years passed since the 3.11 disaster, WIT believes in the power of cross-sector and cross-border collaborations to accelerate and sustain the impact of social entrepreneurs in Tohoku and beyond.

《New Social Enterprises Joining WIT》

Kizuna Mail Project (Bonding Mail Project)

Location: Multiple regions of Japan including Ishinomaki, Miyagi
Theme: Daily email services to support pre/postnatal mothers and families
Founder: Yuki Oshima
URL : http://www.kizunamail.com/
What they do: Deliver daily emails about raising and nurturing children during pregnancy until three-year-old birthday, in collaboration with local governments and hospitals. Launched the service in March, 2011, to prevent isolation of newborn mothers. About 30 local governments in Japan use Kizuna Mail service.

Manmaru Mom Iwate

Location: Coastal and southern inland areas of Iwate
Theme: Pre/postnatal care by midwives and local mothers
Founder: Miyoko Sato
URL : http://manmaru.org/
What they do: Started supporting disaster-affected pregnant women and newborn mothers in September 2011. In Iwate, where they don’t have enough midwives and mothers have to travel far to give births and see doctors, advice from Mamamaru Mom’s experts including midwives, dietitians and hygienists, and peer mothers are very helpful for vulnerable mothers and babies. Mammaru Mom has hosted more than 200 gatherings where 2000+ parents participated in coastal and inland areas of Iwate.

Meiten

Location: Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima
Theme: Revitalization of Japan lacquerware
Founder: Wataru Kainuma
URL : http://urusii.com/
What they do: Meiten was established in 2005 to support traditional craftsmanship in Aizu, an old castle town. Japan lacquerware (Shikki) became their focus products since 2013, when Meiten started experiential tours to connect Shikki users and artisans. After four years of product development, Meiten launched its first product line, Meguru.

Watari Green Belt Project

Location: Watari, Miyagi
Theme: Recovery of multi-purpose coastal forests
Founder: Kazuo Kao
URL : http://watari-grb.org/
What they do: Citizen-led project to rebuild coastal forests swept away by the 3.11 tsunami to protect the lives of coastal residents. The forests were originally planted 400 years ago. Watari Green Belt Project plant nursery trees, develop forests with bio diversity, and raise awareness about the values of coastal forests among younger generations.

Please see the details in the press release (Japanese only): リリース: WIT 2016新規投資先決定

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