Keikyu Accelerator Program, an accelerator venture formed by Japan-based rail operator Keikyu and venture capital firm Samurai Incubate, held the demo day for its second edition on Tuesday, TechCrunch Japan has reported.
Out of the five participants chosen in April this year, luggage storage service Ecbo Cloak received the President’s Award and taxi-based carpooling platform NearMe won the Audience Award.
Ecbo looks to add storage spaces in train stations and cafes to solve the lack of left-luggage facilities, while NearMe intends to reduce taxi fares in Tokyo, implementing an on-demand shuttle system.
Other startups that showcased their technologies were umbrella rental service Nature Innovation Group, helicopter sharing platform AirX and tourist-oriented multilingual automated booking service Tripla.
Kazuyuki Harada, president and representative director of Keikyu, said: “We are continuing the momentum of the first edition and [these startups have also developed] excellent services.
“Although I do not think of Keikyu as a large corporation, I have felt the difference in pace when developing business partnerships with the startups. I look forward to being inspired further in the future.” (Translated from Japanese by Global Corporate Venturing)
