A0 Group Case Study
This supplemental teaching guide provides greater financial information and is built around both the provocation of: “How can communities rich in nature also help people and nature thrive?” And the philosophy and cultural context of: Satoyama —the tradition of working at the intersection of nature and humans. A0 CEO Daisuke Maki explains, “If we were to put our current values into words, ‘nurturing together with nature’ has two meanings. First is that humans and nature grow together while bringing out the best in each other. Second, people nurturing each other, along with nature. I believe that nurturing life itself is at an even higher level above these.” This supplemental information is to be used with the A0 case and film to allow for a more robust classroom discussion. Abstract This case examines how and why the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF) became a shareholder in the A0 (A Zero) Group, a nature-based business located in Nishiawakura, a small rural community surrounded by forests. This impact investment was the first for A0 and was the result of a SIIF initiated Request for Proposal (RFP) to launch SIIF’s Systems Change Collaborative (SCC). SCC is
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