Urban Innovation KOBE, a Kobe-based project to solve regional issues, selects companies for 2023

Adopted startups that take on the challenge of solving local issues are selected!

Urban Innovation KOBE" has been implemented with 53 startups since the project started in 2018, and on June 6, 2023 (Tuesday), we started accepting applications for startups to solve three issues facing Kobe City. This year, one startup was selected for each of the three issues. The 33 companies that applied through the website underwent document screening and interviews, and were selected based on the following criteria: team excellence, understanding of the issues, cooperativeness with staff, novelty and creativity, and sustainability and profitability.

2023 "Urban Innovation KOBE" Adopted Companies

Issue 1: Establish a mechanism for collecting and exchanging the opinions of junior high and high school students and university students who will lead Kobe in the future!
Section in charge : Policy Division, Planning and Coordination Bureau
Adopted company: Hakobun Co.
Business Overview: Operation of "Honne POST," a digital letter that delivers "a little bit of honest feeling" from customers
URL:https://lp.honnepost.com/

Issue 2: New solutions to the problem of bird and animal damage through technology!
Section in charge : Agricultural Policy Planning Division, Bureau of Economy and Tourism
Adopted company: eMakina Corporation (established in 2018)
Business Overview: Manufacture and sale of pest repellent devices using ultrasonic waves that do not affect the human body, etc.
URL:https://emachina.co.jp

Section in charge : Fire and Disaster Management Bureau, Emergency Services Division
Adopted company: mairu tech, Inc.
Business Overview: Development of "mairu," a system for quickly finding private emergency and welfare cabs
URL:https://mairutech.com/

This year, more than 30 companies applied during the application period from June 6 (Tuesday) to July 2 (Sunday), 2023. The three selected companies and Kobe City staff will work together for approximately four months to implement the system through collaborative development with city staff, test use by citizens, and trial introduction and demonstration experiments in the course of city hall operations.

About "Urban Innovation KOBE

The project started in 2018. In 2022, startups and city officials have worked together on a wide range of projects, including the development of an AI system that assists citizens' voices and a tool that allows citizens to avoid traffic congestion by themselves. In 2019, a non-profit organization in the city is developing a broader problem-solving platform called Urban Innovation Japan, which currently has 22 participating municipalities across Japan.

For more information, click here:https://urban-innovation-japan.com/
Past Initiatives:https://urban-innovation-japan.com/past/past-kobe-city/