Three-company collaboration scheme developed to support business recovery and expansion of prefecture-based companies entering the post-COVID era

STANDAGE Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Akinori Adachi, hereinafter referred to as Standage), which develops and provides digital trade platforms, has entered into a business partnership with Chiba Kogyo Bank, Ltd. (President and CEO: Hitoshi Umeda, hereinafter referred to as Chiba Kogin) with the aim of supporting businesses attempting new exports. In addition, the company has also partnered with the Chiba branch of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (Branch Manager Jun Ehara, hereinafter referred to as Tokio Marine & Nichido), an investor in Standage, to build a unique collaboration scheme that combines the strengths of the three companies. The aim is to promote overseas expansion for companies in Chiba Prefecture and revitalize the local economy.

 

Background
Japan's population has continued to decline since peaking in 2008, and the size of the domestic market is steadily shrinking.
As an increasing number of companies move to develop sales channels overseas and find foreign demand, the yen has recently weakened rapidly, and the government has seized this as an opportunity to include a "Program to Support 10,000 New Exporters" in the economic measures approved by the Cabinet in October.
While these efforts are spreading, the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of export volume by small and medium-sized enterprises is still widening.
This is because there are only a limited number of export intermediary companies that can handle small-scale and low-value exports, and it is not realistic for small and medium-sized enterprises to employ trade personnel in-house.

In the midst of this, Chiba Prefecture, home to Narita Airport, Japan's gateway to the world, has relocated its market in Narita City near the airport, equipped with a function for handling export procedures in one place, and reopened in January 2022 in order to promote the export of agricultural and marine products. With the record low yen as a tailwind, the volume of transactions has grown significantly.
On the other hand, according to Narita City, most of the agricultural and marine products sold at the market are from outside the prefecture, and exports of Chiba Prefecture products are sluggish.

 

■Strengths and roles of the three companies
In order to promote the entry of such small and medium-sized enterprises into the export market, Standage has officially started offering "Digitrad," a package service in 2010 that handles all aspects of trade creation, from market development to contracts, negotiations, payments, and logistics, and has since been adopted by dozens of companies.
However, it is not easy to connect with a wide range of locally rooted businesses across Japan.

In order to focus more on supporting local companies in exporting, Standage is working to form partnerships with organizations that have strong ties to local industries, such as local governments, unions, and regional banks.
This time, we will promote the entry of local companies into the export market by partnering with Chiba Industrial Bank, which is one of the regional banks that actively concludes business matching agreements with companies both inside and outside the prefecture and is working hard to create trade flows, and the Chiba branch of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, an investor in Standage.

The roles of each company are as follows:

・Standage:Proposal and provision of "DigiTrad", a comprehensive trade package service for small and medium-sized enterprises, and other trade plans for each product
・Chiba Industrial Bank:Introducing clients to Standage and Tokio Marine through a network of companies within the prefecture
・Tokio Marine & Nichido:In addition to proposing revisions to existing insurance contracts, we also provide support for logistics risk management related to client businesses, and overseas expansion risk management (providing information on overseas product liability insurance and overseas risks, etc.).

Standage will continue to contribute to the overseas expansion of domestic companies and the expansion of Japan's exports by promoting its full-out trade package plans.

 

■About Chiba Kogyo Bank
With Chiba Prefecture as its main sales base, the company supports local businesses, supports the local economy together, and engages in "consulting action" to sustain growth into the future. In its medium-term management plan that began in April 2022, the company aims to design the happiness of many stakeholders by further enhancing the effectiveness of "consulting action."
To support the internationalization of businesses, we have appointed a specialist in international business and cooperate with external specialist institutions. The international business staff provides consultation on trade practices, offers various trade finance services, and provides consulting services such as support for the introduction of foreign exchange control methods.
Established: January 1952
Representative: Hitoshi Umeda, President and CEO
Capital: 62,120,530,000 yen
URLhttps://www.chibakogyo-bank.co.jp/

 

■About Tokio Marine & Nichido
With a long-term vision of "providing peace of mind to customers, being chosen, and continuing to grow," the company has launched a medium-term management plan entitled "Transformation for Growth ("X") and Challenges 2023 - Aiming to be the most chosen company for quality and passion" from fiscal 2021. Even in an uncertain environment, the company is challenging itself with transformation ("X") to achieve its mission of "supporting and protecting customers and the local community in times of need." Going forward, the company will further enhance the "power of insurance" by utilizing technology and spread peace of mind and safety "with passion," thereby supporting people and companies who take on new challenges and contributing to solving social issues in Japan.

This project will combine the digital technologies and solutions of each company to enable small-lot exports and marine insurance arrangements, and in addition, by partnering with Chiba Kogin, a market holder, will aim to promote exports of Japanese food ingredients by SMEs and expand the base of exporting companies. In addition, the project will comprehensively support trade promotion and risk management systems for SMEs by introducing partners for obtaining certifications such as GAP and HACCP, which are necessary for food exports, and business efficiency support, as well as providing "overseas expansion support services (e-learning courses on basic trade practices, export-related surveys, etc.)" that are ancillary services to the insurance.

Established: August 1879
Representative: Shinichi Hirose, President and CEO
Capital: 101.9 billion yen
URLhttps://www.tokiomarine-nichido.co.jp

 

■About Standage
Established in March 2017. Opened an office in Nigeria in December of the same year, and established local subsidiaries in Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt in 2021. Provides "Digitrad," a comprehensive digital trade service that can complete all trade operations, from matching trade sellers and buyers to payment, financing, and cargo delivery. For payments with emerging countries, it has developed a safe, inexpensive, and fast payment system using blockchain and crypto assets. By combining trading company functions with tech, it aims to create a society in which domestic small and medium-sized enterprises are seamlessly connected to the rest of the world.
◇"DigiTrad" service official website:https://standage.co.jp/digitrad
Established: March 2017
Representative: President and CEO Akinori Adachi
Capital: 548,240,000 yen (including capital reserve of 272,620,000 yen)
URLhttps://standage.co.jp/