Key Takeaways
- • Insignia Ventures Partners, a Singapore-based venture capital firm managing S$1 billion (RM3.1 billion) in assets, is planning an academy and startup hub in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, in partnership with the Iwate prefectural government.
- • The planned Iwate campus would be the Insignia Ventures Academy's first base outside Singapore, which has produced more than 250 graduates through its 12-week core programme on venture investment fundamentals.
- • The site under consideration is in Hanamaki, where the Iwate government plans to sell the 41,900-square-metre former Towa High School property, closed since 2010, to the firm.
- • Founding managing partner Yinglan Tan and Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso are scheduled to sign the agreement at the Iwate International Convention in Morioka, October 29 to 30, though no opening date has been set.
- • The initiative aims to channel Southeast Asian investment into Japan and to address regional revitalisation and the impact of an ageing population in Tohoku.
Summary
Insignia Ventures Partners and the Iwate prefectural government are developing a plan to establish a startup hub in Iwate Prefecture, drawing international talent into the broader Tohoku region, according to people familiar with the project as reported by Kyodo News. The two sides hope the hub will increase investment in Japan from fast-growing Southeast Asian economies.
Insignia, founded in 2017, has invested in more than 90 companies in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan, among other markets. Founding managing partner Yinglan Tan and Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso are scheduled to sign an agreement on the sidelines of the Iwate International Convention, set for October 29 to 30 in Morioka. The talks began after the two met at the Summer Davos forum in Dalian, China, in 2024. The two sides have not yet set a date for opening the hub.
The facility would serve as the Iwate campus of the Insignia Ventures Academy, based in Singapore, and would offer in-person programmes. Tan said the academy aims to train young people from Southeast Asia and Japan to act as a bridge between the regions, combining knowledge of Japanese business culture with an understanding of the diversity of Southeast Asian markets. The Singapore academy has produced more than 250 graduates through its 12-week core programme, and graduates have joined portfolio companies or launched their own businesses.
According to Iwate officials, the planned site is in Hanamaki, south of Morioka, which is a transport hub with Iwate Hanamaki Airport, Shin-Hanamaki Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line and the Tohoku Expressway. The prefectural government plans to sell the 41,900-square-metre Towa High School property, closed in 2010, to the firm and is considering renovation subsidies. Tomokazu Sugawara, executive director of the Management Support Division of the Iwate prefectural government, said accommodation and transportation for prospective students and faculty will need to be developed so instructors and students can travel from Singapore and elsewhere. Iwate hopes the project will support regional revitalisation and ease the effects of an ageing population.
Insignia, founded in 2017, has invested in more than 90 companies in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan, among other markets. Founding managing partner Yinglan Tan and Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso are scheduled to sign an agreement on the sidelines of the Iwate International Convention, set for October 29 to 30 in Morioka. The talks began after the two met at the Summer Davos forum in Dalian, China, in 2024. The two sides have not yet set a date for opening the hub.
The facility would serve as the Iwate campus of the Insignia Ventures Academy, based in Singapore, and would offer in-person programmes. Tan said the academy aims to train young people from Southeast Asia and Japan to act as a bridge between the regions, combining knowledge of Japanese business culture with an understanding of the diversity of Southeast Asian markets. The Singapore academy has produced more than 250 graduates through its 12-week core programme, and graduates have joined portfolio companies or launched their own businesses.
According to Iwate officials, the planned site is in Hanamaki, south of Morioka, which is a transport hub with Iwate Hanamaki Airport, Shin-Hanamaki Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line and the Tohoku Expressway. The prefectural government plans to sell the 41,900-square-metre Towa High School property, closed in 2010, to the firm and is considering renovation subsidies. Tomokazu Sugawara, executive director of the Management Support Division of the Iwate prefectural government, said accommodation and transportation for prospective students and faculty will need to be developed so instructors and students can travel from Singapore and elsewhere. Iwate hopes the project will support regional revitalisation and ease the effects of an ageing population.
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