We are pleased to announce that Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited (“Dai-ichi Life”) and Nippon Venture Capital Co., Ltd (“NVCC”) join Gojo & Company Inc. (“Gojo” or “we”) as new shareholders. We welcome them warmly. The $5.4 million funding from the two companies constitutes the first close of Gojo’s Series B financing whose final close timing is expected to be the end of January 2018 and amount $10 – 15 million. Gojo will use most of the raised funds to make investments in microfinance institutions.

It is Gojo’s first funding from institutional investors. Both Dai-chi Life and NVCC provide patient capital, thus enabling Gojo to maintain its long-term view and values. The funding also marks the landmark ESG investment deal in Japan.

Established in 1902, Dai-ichi Life, the lead investor in Gojo’s Series B financing, was the oldest mutual insurance company in Japan and demutualized in 2010. Dai-ichi Life and its group companies provide insurance services in Japan and other countries including Asia with consolidated assets amounting to more than $400 billion. We believe that Gojo will benefit from the experience of various insurance services provided by Dai-ichi Life and that we can partner to expand microinsurance in South East and South Asian countries.

Founded in 1996, NVCC is one of the largest venture capitals in Japan whose shareholders are such reputable Japanese corporations as Fujifilm, Daikin, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Nidec, ORIX among others. We expect that Gojo will be able to expand its existing market research business with the support from NVCC.

We consider this funding another step forward for us to achieve our mission – to be the Private Sector World Bank. To achieve the goal, it is imperative that we have institutional investors who share our vision and mission. We are grateful to Dai-ichi Life and NVCC for making the decision to be the first penguin.

Despite all hurdles ahead of us, we keep calm and carry on making quality financial services available to everyone in the world. We wish your continuous support for us.

Sincerely yours,

Taejun Shin
Founder, Representative Director, and CEO