In January 2018, Group employees from Japan and overseas traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with start-up companies on a case-by-case basis and to hold pitch events. Through these activities, we launched a program to resolve pain point issues that cannot be solved internally and discover new business models. To date, a total of 42 people from 25 entities of MS&AD Group companies in Japan and overseas have participated.
In fiscal 2020, we started the Remote Garage project, which involves discovering start-up companies in the United States, Israel and other countries while being in Japan, and the Co-creation Garage project that invites participants from both inside and outside the MS&AD Group.
When I participated in the Garage, I got acquainted with over 200 companies in Silicon Valley, met with about 50 of them and worked to create new business models.
After returning to Japan, I held many discussions with European companies with the aim of developing business in Japan, but it was difficult because of problems with the Japanese language and laws. When looking for a solution, we found a Japanese startup that was developing a similar service, and we were able to proceed with the negotiation and lead to a demonstration experiment. There have been big changes in my work thanks to my participation in the Garage.
In the future, I would like to contribute to innovation activities as a "Garage ambassador."
Mitsuyoshi Oyamata
Underwriting Department
Mitsui Sumitomo Aioi Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
The Next-Generation Mobility Office, to which I belong, is in charge of developing risk solutions related to next-generation mobility, such as autonomous driving, CASE, and drones. Before I joined the Garage, I had a lot of trouble finding promising startups, but thanks to the Garage, I was able to approach them more efficiently and speed up my work. I am currently working on several projects, and I will do my best to create solutions as soon as possible.
Yasuhiro Kamachi
MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting, Inc.
