NEWS

On Friday, Oct 18, 2013, APU invited KAMOZAKI Yoshihiro from Shinrai Zaidan, to give a Social Outreach Seminar entitled “On the Forefront of Social Business Support”.

KAMOZAKI started by explaining that ‘social business’ has recently been gaining popularity as a business method for solving issues such as falling birthrates, the aging population, loss of communities and isolation and disconnection from society. He then went on to introduce the unique support programs his organization is involved with, namely, providing interest-free and unsecured-loans to social entrepreneurs and making donations to projects that mesh with Shinrai Zaidan’s mission.

“The deciding factor in making loans lies in whether a trusting relationship can be formed and whether the project being supported has maintained harmony with the local environment,” said KAMOZAKI. He continued, “When lending money, we take on the role of guarantor, supporting the entrepreneur and his or her project. We put faith in the project and, in return, we have the social entrepreneur register him or herself as the person responsible for maintaining this trust. By doing this, we hold the entrepreneur accountable to the bond of trust we have formed, and we put pressure—in a positive sense—on him or her to succeed”. The students in attendance listened attentively as KAMOZAKI described how Shinrai Zaidan’s endeavors were having a positive effect on how social entrepreneur approach management.

In the practical finance workshop that followed the seminar, one student said, “I was able to ask questions that I wouldn’t normally get to ask in my regular classes about NPO activities and related circumstances. It really was an invaluable experience from which I gained a great deal.” Another student remarked, “It was very thought-provoking to hear the money lenders’ side of things.”

Since 2010, APU has been arranging Social Outreach Seminars and inviting business representatives, entrepreneurs and experts to give lectures as a means to provide students with the skills and knowledge they will need in the workplace.