Kenichi Sawaya

Managing Director at Cool Japan Fund

📍 Japan🔄 Updated September 2026💼 9 investments📅 6 years investing🗓 Last invested Apr 2026
VC🌍 JapanInvested this year
9
Total investments
0
Early stage
0
Mid stage
3
Late stage
6y
Years active

Portfolio

5 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Investor
Apr 2026
Our purpose is to deliver exciting content and unseen experiences born in Japan to a worldwide audience yet to be unlocked, as embodied in our mission, “Strike wonder in 8 billion hearts”. We operate a diversified range of business both in Japan and around the world, including its flagship VTuber business through its IP Production business, as well as initiatives in closely related fields under its IP Platform and IP Solution businesses. Purpose: Japanese Adventure, World Wide Romance Mission: Strike wonder in 8 billion hearts Vision: A Symphony of Innovations, Pioneering a Brighter Tomorrow Values: Transcending Limits / Living the Details / Blazing Ahead / Creative & Conscientious / Respect First / Life to the Fullest Brave groupは『80億の、心をうちぬけ』というミッションのもと、VTuber事業を行うIP Productionをはじめ、同領域と親和性の高いIP PlatformやIP Solutionの領域において複数事業を国内外で展開しています。 Purpose: 世界に、日本の冒険心を Mission: 80億の、心をうちぬけ Vision: 時代をつくる、事業家集団へ Values: 枠を超える / 細部に宿す / 圧倒的スピード / 創造性と経済性 / リスペクト・ベース / 人生を楽しもう
Investor
Apr 2026
PolicyStreet Group is a full-stack insurance technology (insurtech) group of companies providing digital insurance solutions to businesses and consumers across Asia and Australia. The Group operates through multiple entities across its key markets and business lines, including its insurance distribution, embedded insurance, and reinsurance arms. It partners with over 40 insurance and takaful providers globally to deliver employee benefits and group insurance solutions, insurance aggregation services, and digital infrastructure that simplifies insurance. PolicyStreet Group is backed by leading venture capital firms Altara Ventures and Gobi Partners, as well as sovereign wealth funds Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Cool Japan Fund. The Group serves over 10 million customers with more than US$10 billion in sum insured. It was featured in the Financial Times and Statista’s Top 500 High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2026 list and named “Most Disruptive Insurtech in Malaysia” at the Insurance Asia News (IAN) Country Awards for Excellence 2025.
Investor
Nov 2025
Được hình thành trong thời đại 4.0, Coolmate áp dụng sức mạnh của công nghệ vào thời trang để đưa ra Giải pháp mua sắm đồ cơ bản cho nam giới với mô hình tiện lợi hơn, tiết kiệm hơn - khách hàng có thể mua cả tủ đồ đảm bảo chất lượng, giá tốt, giao hàng nhanh chóng, và dịch vụ chăm sóc vượt trội. Sứ mệnh của Coolmate là giúp nam giới mua sắm dễ dàng hơn bởi Coolmate tin rằng các đấng mày râu xứng đáng có được điều đó. Bằng chính những trải nghiệm lâu dài và nghiên cứu tâm huyết, chúng tôi tin rằng bằng cách đưa đến sự đơn giản, tiện lợi và giá cả hợp lý sẽ là con đường giúp chúng tôi thực hiện sứ mệnh của mình. Coolmate là sự kết hợp giữa ‘Cool’ và ‘Mate’. Chúng tôi mong muốn đem đến cho khách hàng ưa trải nghiệm thích phiêu lưu của mình một vẻ ngoài “cool” ngầu, mới mẻ, năng động. Hơn cả, chúng tôi muốn được trở thành những người bạn, những người đồng hành “mate” trong suốt những ngày bận rộn, đem lại sự thoải mái và tự tin trong từng bước di chuyển, thấu hiểu và trở thành những trợ thủ đắc lực nhất.
late stageRetail
Board Member
Aug 2023
Buy&Ships mission is to become consumers’ first destination for shopping in Asia. Connecting you to the ultimate deals for all your desires, right at your fingertips. Product includes: - Digitalize cross border shipping service tailored for consumer - Automated shopping assistant - AI Global price comparison Join Buy&Ship Community and learn from our users, who are willing to spend time and effort to find the best deal globally. https://www.facebook.com/groups/buyandship.today/ https://www.buyandship.today/sharing/explore/
Board Member
Apr 2023
KKday is a leading mobile-first e-commerce travel platform for local experiences with a strong presence across key Asia-Pacific markets. Our goal is to make travel more accessible, convenient, and safe for everyone. Since 2014, we’ve pioneered the digitalization of tours, activities, and attractions and brought them to everyone’s fingertips. Now, travelers can search for, discover, and book experiences, anytime, anywhere. KKday currently hosts over 30,000 products and services in more than 92 countries and 550 cities. Our website and mobile apps are multilingual, supporting both traditional and simplified Chinese, as well as English, Japanese, Korean, and many others. Our success is built on innovation, a unique product portfolio, and digital-first capability—all made possible by our exceptional people. We’re still growing, so we’re always looking for talents who are passionate about building businesses, developing themselves, and improving consumers’ experiences. We provide talents with the resources, scale, and autonomy to help run our operation. In KKday, our people have the opportunity to rotate across businesses, accelerate their career path, and make lasting impact on the travel industry in the region. Visit kkday.com to find out more! KKday Marketplace Marketplace is a platform where KKday gathers high-quality travel suppliers from around the world to jointly provide travel services. Consumers can quickly search for various travel products, consult with merchants in real-time, and easily complete their orders. After becoming a Marketplace Merchant, you can easily open a store on the largest travel e-commerce platform in the world and use the platforms resource system to assist in your digital transformation by providing reservation control, product management, cash flow services and more. Just like open a store in a mall, join us right now! marketplace.kkday.com
Experience · 10 entries
All (10)
Investments (9)
Board (5)
2026
Investor
Apr 2026
Our purpose is to deliver exciting content and unseen experiences born in Japan to a worldwide audience yet to be unlocked, as embodied in our mission, “Strike wonder in 8 billion hearts”. We operate a diversified range of business both in Japan and around the world, including its flagship VTuber business through its IP Production business, as well as initiatives in closely related fields under its IP Platform and IP Solution businesses. Purpose: Japanese Adventure, World Wide Romance Mission: Strike wonder in 8 billion hearts Vision: A Symphony of Innovations, Pioneering a Brighter Tomorrow Values: Transcending Limits / Living the Details / Blazing Ahead / Creative & Conscientious / Respect First / Life to the Fullest Brave groupは『80億の、心をうちぬけ』というミッションのもと、VTuber事業を行うIP Productionをはじめ、同領域と親和性の高いIP PlatformやIP Solutionの領域において複数事業を国内外で展開しています。 Purpose: 世界に、日本の冒険心を Mission: 80億の、心をうちぬけ Vision: 時代をつくる、事業家集団へ Values: 枠を超える / 細部に宿す / 圧倒的スピード / 創造性と経済性 / リスペクト・ベース / 人生を楽しもう
Investor
Apr 2026
PolicyStreet Group is a full-stack insurance technology (insurtech) group of companies providing digital insurance solutions to businesses and consumers across Asia and Australia. The Group operates through multiple entities across its key markets and business lines, including its insurance distribution, embedded insurance, and reinsurance arms. It partners with over 40 insurance and takaful providers globally to deliver employee benefits and group insurance solutions, insurance aggregation services, and digital infrastructure that simplifies insurance. PolicyStreet Group is backed by leading venture capital firms Altara Ventures and Gobi Partners, as well as sovereign wealth funds Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Cool Japan Fund. The Group serves over 10 million customers with more than US$10 billion in sum insured. It was featured in the Financial Times and Statista’s Top 500 High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2026 list and named “Most Disruptive Insurtech in Malaysia” at the Insurance Asia News (IAN) Country Awards for Excellence 2025.
Investor
Jan 2026
▼Mission 「モノの所有を、自由に。」 わたしたちは、「荷物を預けたい人」と「店舗の空きスペース」をつなぐ荷物の一時預かりサービス「ecbo cloak(エクボクローク)」( https://cloak.ecbo.io/ )を運営しています。 東京・渋谷のオフィスを拠点に少数精鋭メンバーでより良いサービスを目指しながら日々取り組んでいます。 現在、東京・京都・大阪・福岡・沖縄・北海道といった主要な都市で、カフェ、美容院、コワーキングスペース、神社、最近ではJR東京駅、郵便局、百貨店などといった様々な業態で「荷物預かりのインフラ」としてご利用いただいています。今後はテクノロジーを活用して「ボタン一つで荷物を預かり、運ぶ」ことができる革新的なプラットフォームをめざしていきます。 ▼ecbo values ・Excite "ワクワクこそが最大の原動力"​ 自分が、チームが、ユーザーが、どうすればワクワクしていられるかを常に真剣に考え続け、迷った時はワクワクする方を選択しよう ・Communicate "夢を語ろう"​ ecbo のメンバーの一人ひとりが、ecboの目指す世界観とその素晴らしさを社内外の人々に伝え続けるストーリテラーでなければならない夢は語らなければ実現しないどんなに話すのが下手でも、伝わるまで伝え続けよう ・Build "世界を変えていく仕組みを創り続けよう"​ 我々の目指す世界観の実現のためには、現状に満足することなく、常に10倍、100倍の成長を意識していなければならない「日常業務」を持つようになったら、危機感を持とう ・Own your life "自分の人生を生きよう"​ あなたの人生は、あなたのものであり、あなたにとって最も重要なものであるあなたのやりたいこと、実現したいことに全力投球しよう おかげさまで多くのメディアに取り上げられ、サービスの認知も国内では徐々に広まってきましたが、今後、世界中の人に愛していただけるインフラサービスとして定着をさせていくためには、急速にグローバル展開をすることが重要です。 ぜひ、わたしたち一緒に世の中を変えるミッションにチャレンジしてみませんか?
2025
Investor
Nov 2025
Được hình thành trong thời đại 4.0, Coolmate áp dụng sức mạnh của công nghệ vào thời trang để đưa ra Giải pháp mua sắm đồ cơ bản cho nam giới với mô hình tiện lợi hơn, tiết kiệm hơn - khách hàng có thể mua cả tủ đồ đảm bảo chất lượng, giá tốt, giao hàng nhanh chóng, và dịch vụ chăm sóc vượt trội. Sứ mệnh của Coolmate là giúp nam giới mua sắm dễ dàng hơn bởi Coolmate tin rằng các đấng mày râu xứng đáng có được điều đó. Bằng chính những trải nghiệm lâu dài và nghiên cứu tâm huyết, chúng tôi tin rằng bằng cách đưa đến sự đơn giản, tiện lợi và giá cả hợp lý sẽ là con đường giúp chúng tôi thực hiện sứ mệnh của mình. Coolmate là sự kết hợp giữa ‘Cool’ và ‘Mate’. Chúng tôi mong muốn đem đến cho khách hàng ưa trải nghiệm thích phiêu lưu của mình một vẻ ngoài “cool” ngầu, mới mẻ, năng động. Hơn cả, chúng tôi muốn được trở thành những người bạn, những người đồng hành “mate” trong suốt những ngày bận rộn, đem lại sự thoải mái và tự tin trong từng bước di chuyển, thấu hiểu và trở thành những trợ thủ đắc lực nhất.
late stageRetail
2024
Board Member
Nov 2024
Inside Travel Group (ITG) is a specialist tour operator headquartered in Bristol, UK, with sales branches located in Broomfield, Colorado and Brisbane, Australia, and an operations branch based in Nagoya, Japan. The company consists of specialist travel brands InsideJapan Tours, established in 2000, and InsideAsia Tours, which specialises in travel to Asia. The multi-award-winning InsideJapan is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent providers of travel to Japan. The company offers unique group tours, tailored travel, and cultural experiences that few get the chance to discover. With years of experience living, working, and travelling in our destination countries, our team offers unrivalled advice and support, whatever our customers’ budget or personal interests. Our trips give people the chance to experience both the popular and little-known aspects of Japanese and Asian culture, providing customers with an insight into the diverse character of the countries we love. We guarantee that youll have our support every step of the way: in planning and preparation for your trip and during your travels – including on the ground in case something unexpected occurs or you want to make a change. We never pass the buck or fail to take responsibility. We’ll always be there to help you and make it right.
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Investment activity
2020–2026 · 9 investments
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