With "co-creation" between start-up companies and manufacturing companies in Sumida-ku, Sumida INNOVATION CORE" is a meeting place to create new innovations through "co-creation" between startup companies and manufacturing companies in Sumida Sumida INNOVATION CORE" is a place where startup companies and Sumida-ku, Tokyo, which has established the "Sumida INNOVATION CORE," a place for startups to meet and create new innovations through "co-creation" with manufacturing companies in Sumida Ward.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for New Business Location conducted an interview with the Industrial Promotion Division, Department of Industry and Tourism, Sumida City, which established Sumida INNOVATION CORE, an industrial co-creation facility in Sumida City, and published the interview on the website of Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for New Business Location on December 19, 2024.

Mr. Masaomi Takahashi, Industrial Promotion Division, Industry and Tourism Department, Sumida Ward, Tokyo

■Updating industrial clusters through "co-creation" between startups and SMEs

Sumida City has a strong image as a tourist destination, with the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the sacred site of sumo wrestling, and the Sumida River, famous for its cherry blossoms. On the other hand, Sumida is also a manufacturing town with the second largest number of factories among the 23 wards of Tokyo. There are more than 2,100 factories (according to the "2016 Economic Census of Activity"). Moreover, they cover a wide range of fields, including printing and paper processing, metal products, plastic and rubber products, machinery and equipment, and textiles.

SUMIDA INNOVATION CORE (hereinafter referred to as "SIC"), a Sumida-ku industrial co-creation facility opened in October 2023, located an 8-minute walk from Kinshicho Station on the JR Sobu and Hanzomon lines, will create new innovation through "co-creation" between startup companies and manufacturing companies in Sumida Ward. SIC is a "meeting place" to create new innovations through "co-creation" between startup companies and Sumida City's manufacturing companies. We asked Mr. Masaomi Takahashi*, in charge of industrial promotion, Industrial Promotion Division, Industry and Tourism Department, Sumida City, about the background of its establishment, its features, and the advantages of starting a business in Sumida City, Tokyo.

*"Taka" is officially written as "ladder height.

■"SPARK" Acceleration Program for Creating Co-Creation

Since the enactment of the "Sumida-ku Basic Ordinance for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises" in 1979, the first of its kind in Japan, Sumida Ward has been committed to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises for almost half a century. For example, about 20 years ago, Sumida Ward launched "Frontier Sumida Juku," a private business school that aims to nurture the next generation of SMEs by taking over their businesses and focusing on revitalizing SMEs. In 2013, we launched a project to develop centers for the creation of new products, technologies, services, and manufacturing communities, with the aim of generating innovation through manufacturing. SICs have been opened (8 as of December 2024).

SICs are open from 10 to 21 on weekdays and from 10 to 18 on weekends and holidays. During this time, members can freely use the facilities in "THE CORE" free space. This is an open space that promotes interaction among users

The SIC is attracting a lot of attention as a new facility launched by Sumida Ward, and Takahashi says it differs from other similar start-up support facilities in two main ways.

The first is that the SIC aims to realize the future "updating of industrial clusters" in order to inherit and develop "Sumida as a city of manufacturing. Therefore, we do not specialize in supporting startups, but rather provide support for startups and companies in the city to grow together by creating 'co-creation' between startups and SMEs in the city, universities in the city, and between startups."

As an opportunity to create co-creation, Mr. Takahashi mentioned the acceleration program "SPARK" (SUMIDA PROTOTYPE ACCELERATION KIT).

SPARK" is a program for early-stage startups and student entrepreneurs in Sumida City. The features of the program are to provide a program that enables startups to acquire 'business planning skills,' 'co-creation plans,' and 'co-creation partners' according to their needs, and to support the growth of the participants. Following last year, we are now accepting applications for the second term of the program (applications are now closed), and will provide six months of companion support from the beginning of October to the end of February 2025. After graduation from the program, students will be linked to entry into the "Prototype Demonstration Support Program" that began in 2022 to conduct demonstration experiments with the "co-creation plans" and "co-creation partners" acquired through "SPARK".

The accompanying support includes workshops to acquire the necessary knowledge on themes such as "co-creation with Sumida-ku manufacturing companies and government," support for building co-creation plans through individual interviews, setting up matching opportunities with Sumida-ku manufacturing companies that will become co-creation partners, and mentoring with an accelerator, At the results debriefing scheduled for late February 2025, we will invite people involved in the startup industry and provide opportunities for external promotion to support business acceleration after graduation from the program. We will support the acceleration of your business even after you graduate from the program.

Co-working space. The seats are covered with pigskin, a leather material for which Sumida Ward is a major production center.

Various events with a mixture of hard and soft elements also back up growth.

Next, we asked about the second difference between the SIC and other startup support facilities.

The second difference is that SIC focuses on supporting hardware startups that take on the challenge of manufacturing. There are other municipalities in Tokyo that have a concentration of manufacturing companies, but Sumida is unique in that it has a concentration of small and medium-sized companies in a diverse range of industries, including printing and paper processing, metal products, plastic and rubber products, machinery and equipment, textiles, and leather products. From a start-up perspective, there are many choices of industries, making it easier to engage in manufacturing.

On the other hand, the manufacturing companies in the 23 wards are also looking forward to co-creating with start-ups. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, although there are many factories in the 23 wards, the number of factories has decreased significantly in recent years compared to the 9,700 factories in 1970. In these uncertain times, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) feel the need to act as manufacturers themselves, rather than relying on subcontracting from major companies. This is why co-creation with start-ups has the potential to lead to good new business. In fact, there have already been cases of co-creation between start-ups and manufacturing companies in the district through the SIC.

MOVeLOT Corporation is developing and operating a "boarding robot" that allows humans to actually ride and experience piloting the robot. We expect to expand overseas within 3 years and go public within 10 years. Ltd., which provides DX human resource development services using no-code technology, has received high acclaim for its DX support to small and medium-sized companies in Sumida Ward. Based on the results of a two-year prototype demonstration experiment, the company has attracted the attention of other local governments and is expanding its business by providing services to Toyokawa City in Aichi Prefecture, Ehime Prefecture, and other local governments throughout Japan.

The SIC holds a variety of events to provide an opportunity to create such examples of co-creation in the future.

We hold more than 10 events a month that mix hard and soft events such as pitch events, factory tours, manufacturing events for children, lunch social gatherings, snack-style social gatherings, member social gatherings, and joint seminars with banks, VCs, and other financial institutions that are registered as members of the SIC. Some of these events are held voluntarily by SIC members, while others are hosted by our management team. In any case, the themes are "co-creation" and "exchange," and participating companies, organizations, and individuals actively exchange information. We hope that many examples of co-creation will emerge from these events in the future.

Incidentally, there are currently five types of members registered with the SIC. First, there are "Startup Members," which are startup companies, and "Local Business Members," which are manufacturing companies in Sumida City that are looking to co-create with startups.

Next are "Partner Members" who promote the growth and expansion of startups and co-creation with manufacturing companies in Sumida Ward, including financial institutions, venture capitalists, large corporations, media, support organizations throughout Japan, and local governments. In addition, there are <Mentor Members> such as senior entrepreneurs, lawyers, tax accountants, accountants, and administrative scriveners who serve as players necessary for the growth of startups. Freelance creators and designers who are currently working as sole proprietors can also register as "associate members," which are "startup member candidates.

Any location is welcome, as long as it is not a "member of a business in Sumida City. If you are interested in co-creating a business with Sumida-ku companies, you are welcome to approach us from anywhere in Sumida-ku, from Japan to overseas!

Made in Sumida products made by Sumida Ward manufacturing companies will be on display. By allowing visitors from startup companies to see and touch these products, they can take the first step toward co-creation with the small and medium-sized companies that created them.

An example of the event. This is the "New Sports Experience" for corporations, organized by BAKUAGE Corporation, which was selected for the Sumida-ku Prototype Demonstration Support Project in FY2023. Participants experienced two sports, "Baseball 5" and "Square Boccia" (held on 2024/09/11).

■Advantages of Sumida-ku, Tokyo Location: "Closeness to People

Finally, we asked about the advantages of Sumida-ku, Tokyo location.

He replied, "I believe that transportation is convenient anywhere in central Tokyo, but Oshiage, Kinshicho, and Ryogoku stations, which are major stations in Sumida Ward, are all about an hour away from both Narita and Haneda airports. Furthermore, I think it is a great advantage that there are no transfers and direct access by Keisei Electric Railway, JR trains, buses, etc. The Yamanote Line terminals such as Tokyo Station, Shinjuku Station, and Shibuya Station can be reached within 30 minutes. In addition, office and residential rents are still reasonable compared to central Tokyo, and prices are relatively inexpensive due to the many old shopping streets. I think it is easy to start a business and live in the ward.

As for subsidies, in addition to Sumida's own system, there are also those from the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and other organizations, so there is not much difference between Sumida and other wards, he said,

The aforementioned 'Prototype Demonstration Experiment Support Program,' which will begin in 2022, will provide subsidies of 2 to 2.5 million yen per company per year if adopted, and if the effectiveness of the first year's demonstration is confirmed, the demonstration can be conducted for up to two years. Up to five companies are selected each year.

Mr. Takahashi further pointed out that one of the advantages of Sumida Ward is "the closeness between people.

When I work at the SIC, I naturally have many opportunities to talk with people from small- and medium-sized companies in the ward, and I am always impressed by their cooperative and harmonious mindsets. Not a few of them are willing to consider solutions to difficult consultations on the startup side, making full use of their skills and experience. SIC is committed to promoting the "renewal of industrial clusters" through chemical reactions between startups and SMEs in Sumida City, while taking advantage of the proximity of people to people. SIC will promote the "updating of industrial clusters" through the chemical reactions that result from the co-creation of new human resources in the form of start-ups and SMEs in Sumida Ward, while taking advantage of the proximity between people.

Outline of the facility

Facility name: Sumida Industrial Co-Creation Facility SUMIDA INNOVATION CORE

Location: 4-17-1 Kinshito, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

　　　　　　　　　　 Location ： 4-17-1, Kinshicho, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

Establishment ： Sumida-ku, Tokyo

Operator ： Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting G.K.

　　　　　　　　　　 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC

　　　　　　　　　　 Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co.

Operating Partners ： (Facility management and event planning)

　　　　　　　　　　 Rebita Corporation, Mikey Corporation

　　　　　　　　　　 (Furniture design and design)

　　　　　　　　　　 Schema Architectural Planning Ltd.

Business collaboration partner : Hamano Seisakusho Co.

　　　　　　　　　　 Urban Design Center Sumida

　　　　　　　　　　 Tokyo Higashi Shinkin Bank

　　　　　　　　　　 Tobu Railway Co.

Establishment ： October 29, 2023

Details of Support ： Support for startups and student entrepreneurs in Sumida City,

　　　　　　　　　　 Supporting startups and student entrepreneurs in Sumida City, and creating a base for co-creation and exchange with manufacturing companies in Sumida City.

Website ： https://sic-sumida.net/

Source of information

Tokyo Metropolitan Enterprise Location Consultation Center

Website : https://www.ilsc.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/

What is the Tokyo Metropolitan Consultation Center for New Business Location?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Corporate Location Advisory Center provides free consultation for companies and sole proprietors in search of a "location" to establish or expand their business. We will ask you about your desired conditions and make a simultaneous inquiry to private real estate businesses that handle offices, stores, factories, and business sites.

We also provide information on public property information and support systems of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and municipalities in Tokyo.

(The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Business Location Consultation Center is operated by the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.)

Articles

Interviews with companies that have located and are active in Tokyo and persons in charge of corporate support at the municipalities are posted on the website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Consultation Center for Investors in Business Location.

URL: https://www.ilsc.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/voice/051.html