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KIBOW Social Investment Fund Issues the 'IMPACT REPORT 2025'

The KIBOW Social Investment Fund, operated by the KIBOW Foundation (Chiyoda, Tokyo, Representative Director: Yoshito Hori), released its latest report titled 'IMPACT REPORT 2025' on February 6, 2026. This comprehensive report focuses on the social impact achieved by the fund and its investees, while also presenting the voices of investors and a special feature exploring the aspirations that drive social entrepreneurs.

Purpose of the 'IMPACT REPORT 2025'

The primary goal of the 'IMPACT REPORT 2025' is to share KIBOW's contributions towards a sustainable, brighter future and the knowledge gained through its activities. This report outlines the vision of the ideal society that both the fund and its investees strive for, detailing their proposed pathway, the specific social issues they target, initiatives taken, and their current progress. Through this report, KIBOW aims to visualize the social impact of its investments and strengthen their communication efforts, ultimately seeking to expand their social impact. Additionally, it aims to contribute to the growth of social impact investing within Japan, which addresses societal challenges such as poverty, discrimination, environment, education, and welfare.

Key Contents of the Report

'IMPACT REPORT 2025' is structured into several sections including the fund's vision, mission, pathways for social transformation, highlights, investment processes, judgment criteria, and details about investee companies. The section dedicated to investee companies discusses the social challenges they face, an overview of their businesses, the paths they pursue to achieve social impact, and key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect their success.

Moreover, the report features three special articles:

1. Realities of Impact Report Publication from Impact Startups – This segment presents insights from the COO of Rightlight, Megumi Saito, and the CEO of Gakushi, Ryosuke Matsubara, discussing how publishing impact reports aligns their teams and strengthens partnerships with local governments.

2. Investors Share Their Experiences with KIBOW – Featuring discussions from three of KIBOW's long-term investors—Allen Miner (Chairman and Group CEO, Sunbridge), Kohei Terada (President, Terada Warehouse), and KIBOW's representative director, Yoshito Hori—on the tangible impacts observed over a decade of support and their expectations for the future.

3. Exploring the Sources of Aspiration among Social Entrepreneurs – This article dives into the backgrounds of social entrepreneurs like Takuya Oka (CEO, Kakemichi Project), Carlos Melen (CEO, GOOD COFFEE FARMS INC), and Wataru Hayase (CEO, Rapole Hair Group) as they reflect on the synchronicities that inspired them to address social issues.

KIBOW is committed to hosting related events to promote social impact investment further.

Achievements of KIBOW Social Investment Fund (as of December 2025)

Since its establishment in September 2015, KIBOW has operated under the mission of 'working together with entrepreneurs who solve societal issues and create hope, driving business creation and social transformation.' To date, it has invested a total of ¥1,017 million (including follow-up investments), generating a ripple effect of ¥2,162 million and supporting the growth of impact startups through a total of 28 investments and 3 exits. KIBOW positions itself as a support-oriented fund, not just focused on investment but actively helping entrepreneurs foster the flow of 'people, funds, and knowledge' to accelerate business creation and social impact.

About KIBOW Social Investment Fund

KIBOW was founded in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 to assist in recovery efforts. Initially launched as a project in 2011, KIBOW became a general incorporated foundation to sustainably support recovery efforts. In September 2015, it established the KIBOW Social Investment Fund to contribute not just to the disaster-affected areas but widely across Japan by conducting social impact investments targeting social entrepreneurs. Over these ten years, KIBOW has invested in a total of 22 startup companies and currently operates the 'KIBOW Social Investment Fund No. 3' with a total of ¥1 billion. The fund continues to challenge unresolved social issues and accelerates solutions through social impact investments.

Message from KIBOW’s Leading Partners

According to KIBOW's representative partners, Tomoya Nakamura and Reiji Yamanaka, solving social issues cannot be achieved by one entity alone. It requires the collective efforts of entrepreneurial challenges, investor intentions, and diverse networks of support. 'IMPACT REPORT 2025' encapsulates not just the outcomes and metrics but also the conflicts, learnings, and the unwavering 'will' that evolve in the course of practice. They hope the report fosters new connections and drives progress within the social impact investment community.

Through ongoing communication and the establishment of dialogue platforms, KIBOW will continue to work towards expanding social impact.

Additional Information

For further details on KIBOW, visit KIBOW Official Website.

For inquiries related to this release, contact:
Ryo Tsuchihashi, PR Office, GLOBIS
E-mail: [email protected]