<1>Foreword
Thank you for your continual support for ARUN.
We are working to build a global social investment platform originating in Japan.Just the other day, we received news that Mr. Bill Gates has invested in a social investment fund in India. Mr. Gates has been making contributions through his own fund, but now he took a step into social investment, recognizing it as an investment model which “can provide directly to the people who need change the most.” Such news reflect the shift in people’s understanding. Now is the time to share the meaning of social investment, which is different from the traditional donations and investments, and put it into practice.
The fund which Mr. Gates invested is the Unitus Seed Fund, a venture capital fund designed to invest in the startup stage of social entrepreneurs in India. It is one of the Unitus Groups, and was established in the year 2000 in order to solve poverty issues. I had a chance to visit their office in Bangalore last year. I was impressed with their dynamic support to the global entrepreneurs in various stages through investments to microfinance institutions and investments to Asia and Latin American Countries.
In Japan, at the beginning of this month, the roadmap for creating a social investment market was released. The writers of the roadmap were nine individuals including scholars, researchers, and representatives of NPO bank and a community fund. I, too, was one of them. Our goal is to build a society where social investment is a norm. This movement is backed up by the activities in Japan based on the G8 Impact Investment Task Force which was announced by the British Prime Minister Mr. Cameron, and also by the much debated arguments regarding the active use of the dormant bank accounts which is said to generate 80 billion a year.
While social investment is expanding world wide, my small concern is that I hear voices that say, “Japan is a country with many challenges. Therefore, we need to focus on the support for the domestic entrepreneurs first.” Contrary to closing up within the Japanese society, ARUN would like to contribute to the openness by connecting with people who are striving to solve social problems in Asia and the world and support the innovations that build a better society.
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