Funds Earns the Mizuho Innovation Award for Its Unique Investment Platform

Funds Recognized with Mizuho Innovation Award 2025.3Q

Funds, a unique investment service offering fixed-rate returns, has recently been awarded the prestigious Mizuho Innovation Award for the third quarter of 2025. This accolade is granted by Mizuho Bank, which recognizes companies taking innovative strides towards the future.

Overview of Funds

Operating under the leadership of CEO Yuichiro Fujita and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Funds provides an online platform that connects individual investors with corporations through a lending investment model. This system enables individuals to invest from as little as one yen, making investment accessible to everyone and contributing to broader financial inclusion.

What is the Mizuho Innovation Award?

The Mizuho Innovation Award was established by Mizuho Bank in 2017 to support emerging innovative businesses. The bank selects awardees quarterly based on their business model advantages, team strength, and growth potential. The winners benefit from various supportive measures, including business matching with larger corporations.

Reason for Recognition

According to Mizuho Bank, Funds was chosen for its commitment to democratizing asset management through its online investment platform. The company has developed a lending investment model that minimizes risk and encourages the stable formation of personal assets while providing corporations with new funding opportunities. The award emphasizes Funds' high level of transparency in operational design and solid risk management practices that have sustained its continuous growth. Mizuho aims to foster an environment where more individuals can participate in asset management confidently.

Key Features of Funds

1. Fixed Returns with No Market Fluctuation:Funds offers financial products that guarantee fixed returns, allowing investors to build their assets without the anxiety caused by market volatility. This stability simplifies the investment process and reduces the psychological burden on investors.

2. Investing from Just One Yen: The platform has innovatively enabled investments starting from one yen, breaking down barriers for novice investors who might be hesitant to start investing. This unique feature allows individuals to invest in smaller increments.

3. Rigorous Selection of Participating Companies: Only companies that meet Funds' strict criteria regarding financial health and business plans are allowed to seek funding through the platform, ensuring a level of security for investors.

4. Incentives for Investors: Some of the funds provide unique perks such as discount coupons and exclusive invitations to tasting events for investors, creating additional value beyond financial investment.

Conclusion

Funds is not only revolutionizing the way individuals can invest but also aims to foster deeper connections between individuals and corporations through finance. By doing so, they seek to create new value in the investment landscape.

About the Founder

Yuichiro Fujita, the CEO of Funds, brought significant experience to the company when he founded it in November 2016 after a successful career at CyberAgent and other ventures in the crowdfunding space. His background uniquely positions Funds to innovate in the area of asset management.

Important Disclaimers

While opening an account and investing with Funds incurs no direct fees, investors bear the transfer fees charged by their financial institutions. Additionally, the funds offered are not market-traded securities; thus, investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. It is prudent for investors to review all risk disclosures and terms before proceeding.