Mentorship Matters Upon returning to Japan, Kudo was offered a position at the Nippon Foundation, where she began planting the seeds for impact investing in Japan. With the support of Foundation leadership—Ohno and Aoyagi— she continued to develop the concept. Though initially unfamiliar with impact investing, they were intrigued by its potential and encouraged her efforts. Given the gender gap in Japan and beyond, successful women like Kudo often benefit from leadership alignment with their goals. In Kudo’s case, Aoyagi’s support was instrumental. With his experience addressing social change at the Nippon Foundation, he understood the organizational and budgetary shifts needed to advance Kudo’s vision. Their shared commitment to SIIF’s values and culture allowed the organization to move forward more quickly. Setting the Stage for SIIF: Create the Vision and Experiment In 2014, while still at the Nippon Foundation, Kudo established the Office of Social Investment Promotion and Shuichi Ohno represented the private sector on the G8 Social Impact Investment Task Force (now GSG Impact). Nippon Foundation also served as the secretariat for Japan’s National Advisory Board (NAB), which would later become GSG Impact JAPAN. This early period was marked by experimentation and inspiration drawn from international models. Kudo and her colleagues looked to the UK for guidance, where Sir Ronald Cohen’s pioneering work on impact investing and the creation of the GSG NAB had set a precedent. 5 Cohen visited Japan, bringing with him a sense of possibility and a tangible model for what Japan could achieve in this new space. 6 Kudo and her Nippon Foundation colleagues, Ohno, Aoyagi, and Shigeru Fujita began exploring the development of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), launching pilot projects in the cities of Yokosuka, Amagasaki, and Fukuoka. These early ventures laid the groundwork for Japan’s own impact investing ecosystem. By 2016, the Social Impact Measurement Initiative (SIMI)—now the Social Impact Management Initiative—was established, setting standards for measuring social outcomes. Each of these efforts played a pivotal role in fostering the growth of Japan’s impact investing landscape, and from this momentum, SIIF was born.
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Ten Years in the Making
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