Hosted by Phoenixi, with support from U-FINO.
Join international founders, researchers, creatives, students, and other curious minds as social incubator Phoenixi and innovation catalyst U-FINO team up to welcome our growing global Kansai community in Kyoto.
This Kyoto edition is all about bringing diverse people together and creating unexpected encounters. Some of the best friendships, collaborations, and ideas begin with a conversation between people who otherwise might never have met.
In that spirit, let us spend an evening enjoying summer in beautiful Kyoto with cold drinks, warm conversations, and perhaps a few unexpected new friendships, partnerships, and future projects.
80 spots only – first come, first served. We look forward to seeing you there!
When & Where
August 6 (Thursday), 17:00-19:30
Phoenixi, toberu 1, 32 Yoshida Tachibana-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City (京都市左京区吉田橘町 32)
Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/PivUUPjw9Nk7g9bw6
Agenda
17:00 – Doors Open
17:30 – Welcome Remarks: Haruka Takenaka, U-FINO | Yutaka Iijima, Phoenixi
17:40 – Networking
18:30 – Three 3-min talks: a founder, a researcher & a creator (TBA)
19:30 – Official Closing: Tobias Mathiasen, Katalysen Ventures
After – Optional After-Drinks Nearby
Admission Fee
JPY 1,500 (fully cashless using PayPay)
Includes two drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and light snacks
Access Information
Train: 10 minutes walk from Jingu-Marutamachi Station (Keihan Line)
Train: 13 minutes walk from Demachiyanagi Station (Keihan Line)
Bus: 5 minutes walk from Kyoto University Bus Stop (Hoop Bus, 206 City Bus)
Bus: 6 minutes walk from Kojinbashi Bus Stop (Bus 17)
Walk: 9 minutes walk from Kyoto University Clock Tower
Please see the end of this page for a photo of toberu 1
About the Organizers
Phoenixi is a Kyoto-based residential incubator for corporate intrapreneurs and social entrepreneurs. To nurture entrepreneurial talent and help them make impact business ideas into reality, Phoenixi runs a 4-month immersive incubation program at "toberu", a Phoenixi facility designed to facilitate innovation, offering two types of fellowships: Sponsored and Independent. Sponsored Fellows are intrapreneurs sent from Phoenixi's sponsors (mostly major Japanese corporations) on a mission to develop new impact businesses within. Independent Fellows are early-stage entrepreneurs, university faculty and students, etc who aspire to build or grow their impact startups.
Phoenixi was co-founded by three women (Dr Sachiko Kuno, CEO Yukiko Hasitera, and Izumi Kobayashi) based on the Halcyon model. Halcyon, co-founded by Dr Sachiko Kuno and Kate Goodall, is a Washington DC-based residential incubator that "accelerates the impact-driven future of business". Since its inception in 2019 and run by COO Yutaka Iijima, Phoenixi has supported 96 (44 Sponsored, 52 Independent) Fellows in 13 cohorts. Over the past 2 years (4 cohorts): 52% female, 44% international. For further details, please see: https://www.phoenixi.co.jp
U-FINO, the Umekita Future Innovation Organization, is a public–private initiative established in 2022 to help shape Grand Green Osaka into a leading hub for new business creation, collaboration, and international competitiveness in Kansai.
Based at JAM BASE in the Grand Green Osaka North Building, it brings together industry, academia, government, and wider support networks to connect people, technology, information, and capital, with the goal of supporting the creation and commercialization of new products, services, and businesses that address societal challenges.
U-FINO’s members are Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., Osaka Gas Urban Development Co., Ltd., Obayashi Corporation, ORIX Real Estate Corporation, Kanden Realty & Development Co., Ltd., Sekisui House, Ltd., Takenaka Corporation, and Hankyu Corporation. For further details, please see: https://u-fino.com/en/
Tobias Mathiasen is a Swedish venture partner with over a decade of experience across startups, finance, venture development, and cross-border strategy in both Europe and Asia. Through Katalysen Ventures and collaboration with various Japanese innovation stakeholders, he strives to connect founders, investors, corporates, public institutions, and ecosystem builders across Japan and Europe, and to strengthen Kansai’s role as an international innovation hub.