At One&Co, the coworking space opened by JR East in Singapore, we strive to be the business platform to connect Japan and Singapore. We are excited to announce that Mr. Tomokazu Ushioda will be joining One&Co as our adviser.
Mr. Ushioda agrees with our goal of not just offering the workspace, but providing “workspace + α”, by connecting people and expanding the network and community. He has been involved in business creation through open innovation for the past 10 years, and has been working with nearly 50 start-up companies, mainly in the corporate network. We are excited to working with Mr. Ushioda.
Message from Mr. Ushioda
My impression of One&Co is that it is a coworking space that offers a full range of services in terms of providing both a conducive workspace and networking.
This past year, our working style has changed dramatically due to Covid-19. For better or worse, the coworking space industry has been one of the most affected by the disaster. A coworking space which provides people with only a space to work in will not be able to differentiate itself from other competitors. However, I believe that One&Co has the ability to respond to these challenges by providing not only a workspace but also encouraging the growth of a professional community. The idea of One&Co, which aims to create innovation through coworking, co-learning, communication, and alliances based on community, is very similar to KDDI’s open innovation activities on the theme of co-creation.
It’s been ten years since KDDI launched its incubation program, KDDI∞Labo, with the aim of creating businesses based on open innovation. It has now developed into a stage where we can conduct various trial and error with start-up companies, mainly from our network of nearly 50 companies. The KDDI Open Innovation Fund, which supports co-creation with start-ups from a financial perspective, is also approaching its tenth year of investment, and investment in Southeast Asia is also increasing.
One&Co and I share the same goal of connecting Japanese companies with the ecosystem in Southeast Asia, so I was honoured to take up this advisory role. (I’m sure we can think of many more things to do, such as collaboration between One&Co and companies related to KDDI∞Labo) If you see me at the coworking space, let’s talk about business partnerships, investments, or anything you want, please let me know!
Profile｜Tomokazu Ushioda
General Manager, Business Planning Department
KDDI Singapore
Representative of KDDI Open Innovation Fund
Singapore Office
Tomokazu Ushioda is the representative of KDDI Open Innovation Fund Singapore. KDDI is Japan’s No.2 mobile carrier with more than 45 million mobile subscribers and 8 million cable TV and landline service subscribers. KDDI has a corporate venture fund, KDDI Open Innovation Fund and invested in over 70 startups in the world, looking for companies with an interest to entering the Japanese market down the road as well as collaboration business in SEA with KDDI subsidiary companies.
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