Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation

Goro Tamaru is an Impact Officer at the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), working in climate and impact finance. He holds an MSc in Climate Change Science and Policy and has designed and implemented projects across sectors including water, agriculture, waste management, renewable energy, and the not-for-profit field. His background also includes marketing strategy and analytics in business-to-consumer sectors.

Kanafumi Furuichi is an Impact Catalyst at the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), which he joined in 2018 after working in product development at a manufacturer, strategy consulting and M&A advisory at a foreign consulting firm, and venture investing at a corporate and an independent venture capital firm. At SIIF he has worked on launching the Hataraku Fund (Japan Impact Investment II Fund), direct investments and business support, and led the seed accelerator program Hallucigenia Lab focused on new resource-circulation systems; since June 2022 he has also served as a researcher at the Impact Economy Lab. He additionally provides consulting and development support independently under the name FutureOrders.

Lena Ryuji is an Impact Officer at the Social Innovation and Impact Investment Foundation (SIIF). Her work focuses on designing and implementing corporate social responsibility and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, with an emphasis on minority and underrepresented communities, as well as nonprofit partnerships and disaster recovery and prevention. She is a native speaker of both Japanese and English.

Former Credit Suisse analyst and Standard & Poor's ratings executive; now an independent regional/organizational revitalization consultant and professor at Sagami Women's University, specializing in management, sustainable tourism, and social innovation.

Editor, writer, and copywriter who supports communications for social startups. Works as a narrative designer at culture-design firm KESIKI and has a background in media editing and localization.

International entrepreneur and impact investment banker with over 30 years in values-driven business and banking, specializing in inclusive finance, food and agriculture, and renewable energy.

Representative Director of Capital Drive Inc. Former SMBC and IBD banker who worked on IPOs and cross-border M&A; founded Capital Drive in 2019 to support startups with capital policy, IPO, and IR strategy.

Specializes in visualizing corporate positive/negative impact and integrating ESG factors into long-term management strategy. Worked at MSCI, KPMG, and Sustainalytics; EFFAS Senior ESG/Sustainability Advisor and part-time lecturer at Keio University.

Motoi Kawabata is Impact Catalyst at the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), where he leads international research on systems change investing and contributed to the white paper of TWIST, a global collective that includes MIT and Better Society Capital. Working independently since 2015, he connects international investors and foundations with Japanese social entrepreneurs across strategy design, execution, and impact evaluation, and is Founder and CEO of innovate with Co., Ltd. He holds an Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics, completed with Distinction in 2023, and is based in Osaka.

Former strategy consultant and turnaround manager; currently executive officer, CFO/CHRO of NewsPicks at Uzabase, director at NewsPicks Studios, and visiting professor at Globis.

Joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2005 and worked on disclosure and new business development; since 2022 a Director at Impact Frontiers and an expert advisor to SIIF on overseas impact investing and IMM trends. Author of a book on impact investing; Wharton MBA.

Joined Future Venture Capital, became its youngest president of a listed financial company in 2016, and stepped down in 2022. Founded ABAKAM Inc. in 2022.

Project leader at Koso Nippon focused on public-interest corporation matters; since 2008 has worked on public-interest corporation system reform and supported organizations transitioning to public-interest status, holding several advisory posts under the Cabinet Office.

Works across social issues and design, public and business, and technology and creative fields; contributes to SIIF's outreach design and Impact Economy Lab research. Specializes in corporate transformation and organizational culture, and is involved with deeptech startup Kepler, culture-design firm KESIKI, and creative studio Whatever.

Yuya Kato is an Impact Officer at the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), where he focuses on providing financial and non-financial support to social entrepreneurs on impact strategies, business models, and financial plans. His work centers on developing an impact investment ecosystem that addresses social issues alongside economic sustainability. Prior to joining SIIF, he worked at the publishing company Kodansha, where he established and managed its corporate venture capital operation and supported the management of domestic and international subsidiaries.