Smart City x SDGs" Project to demonstrate the use of vending machines in Shibuya! Call for startups!

Becoming a Startup Friendly City

In addition to contributing to the promotion of a smart city and the SDGs, this project is a social experiment to make Shibuya a startup-friendly town. We will create "firsts in Japan" with innovative ideas and individual technologies.

Project Background

The theme of this vending machine utilization project is "Smart City x SDGs. Vending machines are numerous not only in Shibuya, but also throughout Japan. The vending machine landscape is unique to Japan, with numerous vending machines installed throughout the city due to security risks in other countries. In order to promote smart city initiatives, it is necessary to solve various problems in the city through the use of new technologies such as ICT and management to achieve overall optimization, but constructing new facilities from scratch is difficult from various financial and environmental perspectives. Therefore, we will demonstrate an initiative to solve various problems in the city by utilizing vending machines, an asset that is already installed in the city.

In addition, looking around Shibuya from the perspective of the SDGs, one of the most pressing issues is the problem of garbage. Currently, the recycling bins (trash cans) in the city are installed with the goodwill of the managers of the vending machine locations. Although these boxes are installed to recycle cans and PET bottles, other garbage such as plastic containers are thrown away, which increases the cost of sorting, prevents efficient recycling, and spoils the surrounding landscape. In Shibuya, the recycling bins are overflowing. In Shibuya, there is no place to dispose of the garbage overflowing from the recycling bins, and this has led to secondary damage, such as crows pecking at the garbage, which is detrimental to the city's image.

In this initiative, from Shibuya Ward, a city that represents the startup ecosystem in Japan, we will utilize vending machines, which can be considered a uniquely Japanese culture, to communicate a new approach that could become a future standard in the smart city x SDGs field.

Project Summary

Objective: Focusing on startups' cutting-edge technologies and ideas, the event will solicit new ideas and technologies in the field of "Smart City x SDGs" by utilizing vending machines and recycle bins in the city, and demonstrate them in the town of Shibuya.
Period: From November 2023 (planned)
Location: Vending machines in the vicinity of Shibuya Station
Organizers: Selected Startups, Shibuya Startup Deck
Co-sponsored by ITO EN, NTT East, CAMPFIRE Inc.

<Wanted Startups
Initiatives utilizing new technologies such as ICT using vending machines as a medium
Ideas and technologies to increase recycling efficiency at recycling bins

<About the project cost of this project
Depending on the nature of the project, grants from the district and support from SSD members (funds, in-kind contributions, services, etc.) are available.

<Benefits of Participation
Advanced demonstration experiments using vending machine recycling bins are possible.
The sponsor may cooperate in exposure (project implementation under the auspices of Shibuya Ward, PR exposure as a demonstration experiment conducted with the local government, exposure on Shibuya Ward's SNS, etc.), and the sponsor may cooperate in press releases and other forms of exposure.
Possibility of collaboration with the sponsors even after the project is completed.
Although the startup will be the main executing entity, the organizer will support the overall project management, coordinate the various stakeholders, and handle administrative procedures, allowing the startup to focus on the project.
Depending on the content of the proposal, there is a possibility that the sponsor may bear some of the costs.

<Specifications of provided resources (vending machines and recycling bins)
See Appendix 1.
Attachment 1 download location:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xnL_vULwFdmgRuT28vs9kiNWRGoXQEhc?usp=sharing
*If you are unable to download the file, please contact us by e-mail.

<Terms and Conditions of Employment
Proposals for either vending machines, recycling bins, or both are sought.
The vending machine to be used must be an existing one for soft drinks, and no major modification of the vending machine itself is required (the existing functions must not be impaired).
The applicant must be willing to use this opportunity as a demonstration for the growth of the company's business, and must be willing to incur the human resources required to do so.
You must have already submitted your entry to Innovation for New Normal From Shibuya.
Willingness and willingness to work together with the members of SSD for the success of this project and to work together until the end of the project.
The idea must be in line with the theme and feasible during the period.

1 For pitch events, we ask that you make a presentation while showing a mockup or prototype of your deliverables, a demo, or other image of your deliverables.
2 The selection will be based on the results of coordination with the owner of the vending machine, etc. (implementation coordination).

＜About the application for the declaration of participation
Please send Exhibit 2 to the following email by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 7, the deadline date and time.
Download location in Appendix 2:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xnL_vULwFdmgRuT28vs9kiNWRGoXQEhc?usp=sharing
Shibuya Startup Deck Management Office Mail to: div-global@shibuya.tokyo
*If you are unable to download the file, please contact us by e-mail.

<About the question
We will inform you of the details separately for those companies that have applied for participation.

<Document Screening and Submission Documents
1 Company profile (free format)
2 A business plan including financial statements (free format)
3 Past business achievements (free format)
4 Proposal (no more than 10 A4 size pages)
　　The following information must be included
　　(1) Purpose of the project
　　Social Significance
　　Implementation system
　　4) Schedule for implementation
　　(5) How to develop and utilize the project after the project is completed (how to be involved in smart cities and SDGs)
　　(6) Specific description of deliverables (data format, design, etc.)
5 Quotation (free format)
*All expenses for the project, including initial costs, running costs, restoration costs, etc., shall be clearly stated. Estimates are not to be included in the proposal.

<Special note
The application must not infringe on the rights of others, such as intellectual property rights.
Comply with all laws and regulations, including the Personal Information Protection Law.
Not to be involved in or encourage discriminatory, illegal, or fraudulent acts.
No obstacles to walking or traffic

<Others
The bidder must not be exempted from bidding based on the Shibuya Ward Outline for Elimination of Boryokudan and Other Organized Crime Groups in Contracts (approved by the Mayor on November 25, 2013).