Kannai Innovation Initiative Co., Ltd. Yuka Harida

We spoke to Yuka Harita, representative director of Kannai Innovation Initiative Co., Ltd., which operates the shared office/coworking space "mass x mass."

Supporting entrepreneurs and connecting them to larger offices

--Please tell us what led you to launch mass×mass.

Around 2010, Yokohama City's administrative issue was that the number of vacant office buildings in the Kannai area would increase rapidly, and that the value of the area that had been used for business functions would change.

There was a call for proposals for a model project to form a business incubation base based on the "Kannai/Kannai Area Revitalization Promotion Plan," and we, as the business operator, were selected and launched this facility.

By providing a shared work space and gathering incubation facilities for social entrepreneurs, we wanted to create a place to create new value. Our primary aim was to build a bridge between the entrepreneurs we gathered so that their businesses would gradually grow and expand, allowing them to move on to offices in the Kannai area, but things didn't turn out as we had envisioned, and we had some tough times. did.

At the time, there were some shared offices in this area, but there were not many coworking spaces where residents could interact with each other and create new value.

Facilities that can be used freely and allow working styles that suit the times

--How many companies do you have currently? Also, what types of industries are the majority of the companies that are tenants here?

Currently, about 80 companies are residents. Approximately 250 companies have used our service since its establishment.

It was first established as a subsidy project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the City of Yokohama, but it is now operated as a privately-run facility. Government-managed incubation facilities have a limit on how many years you can stay in the facility, but we have not set a specific deadline. So, there are people who have been here since the company's establishment, and there are people who have graduated right away, so it's all different.

In addition, the residents have a variety of corporate statuses, from sole proprietors to corporations and NPOs. If we divide it by industry, 2% are IT ventures and IT-related companies, 2% are corporations aiming to solve social issues, creators, designers and copywriters, and recently, the number of architects is increasing. I did. Those are also about 2%. After the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to people moving in as companies, we are also seeing people working for other companies using drop-ins to work remotely, and a variety of people gathering together.

At first, I thought that if people from the same industry moved in, we would be in competition with each other, but in reality, people who have just started up often get confused, and having someone in the same industry as me gives me advice and encouragement. It seems like it happens often.

Residents often collaborate with each other

--Are there a lot of connections between the residents?

Well, I think the number of connections is increasing. There are people from a variety of occupations, so we are trying to pool our strengths to procure jobs, and before the coronavirus outbreak, we were interacting by having meals together and going out to events.

To help our residents connect with each other, we sometimes set up coffee breaks, or when we're having lunch together, we ask them questions like, ``What do you do?''

Of course, based on how everyone works, I don't try to force connections with people who don't want to talk to me much, but rather I try to naturally support people who want to connect with me.

Yokohama has an established network of social capital, not just money

--What is the appeal of Yokohama?

Is it social capital? I always feel that Tokyo is different, and that the connections between people and organizations in Yokohama are attractive. Money is important, but isn't there more value in organic networks based on close relationships than just money?

For example, last year we launched a web media called YOKOHAMA FOOD LOVERs and a human gourmet site, and this year we plan to develop it with Kannai as a priority area. We will develop our business with the cooperation of not only restaurants, but also the supporters who support them, such as shopping district associations, town development organizations, financial institutions, venture companies that provide delivery systems, and development businesses that are responsible for area management. I'm exploring. In order to connect customers and restaurants in this area, real connections are essential, even with the help of IT, and we would like to make use of the environment in which we can do this and produce results.

YOKOHAMA FOOD LOVERs　 https://media.new-port.jp/

Possibilities for innovation expand further

--On the other hand, what are Yokohama's future challenges?

The biggest problem is that we are not fully promoting Yokohama's appeal to people who want to start a business or innovate. From 2019 to 2021, we conducted a school for solving social issues and produced approximately XNUMX graduates. Since there is a community of graduates, one of the challenges may be whether we can continue to create a place where they can continue to play an active role beyond the departments of Yokohama City. It takes a lot of effort to keep the community going. That said, there are already attractive activities and communities in Yokohama, so I think it is important to design a relationship with them.

Also, from our citizen's perspective, I wish Yokohama City and Kanagawa Prefecture would cooperate. By doing so, we hope to create a financial support system in Yokohama and Kanagawa that can support businesses in a variety of ways even after starting a business, which will expand the possibilities for creating innovation.

Promoting human circulation through ecosystem mechanisms

--Please tell us what you are aiming for and what you want to do in the future.

I believe that we still have not sufficiently developed cross-disciplinary entrepreneurial human resources and support human resources. It will be difficult for us to do it alone, but we would like to continue our efforts to increase the value of Yokohama by creating an ecosystem-like structure and being involved in it.

Community managers have been attracting a lot of attention lately. A community manager has a wide range of responsibilities, including managing coworking spaces, shared offices, business communities, etc., supporting matching of community members, planning and holding events to revitalize the community, disseminating information, and solving problems within the community. is. After 11 years of establishment, we are seeing an increasing number of community managers produced by mass x mass going out and working outside the organization. I think it's a very virtuous cycle, so I think we should take on the challenge of creating a system that allows us to continue sending out those people, and evolving it so that it works properly economically.

``LOCAL BOOK SOTE kita.'' is a space where everyone can bring their books and run it together under a 1-shelf, XNUMX-owner system.
Operated by affiliated company MassMath Square. People with different attributes than shared office users gather together, creating a new community and liveliness.

FAVORITE SPOT

"TSUBAKI Shokudo"
This restaurant is located within Yokohama City Hall and uses ingredients from Kanagawa Prefecture. We are particular about locally produced and locally consumed dishes such as ``Komatsuna-don'' and ``18-ku-don.''

"YOKOHAMA BEER"
Craft beer made in Yokohama, the birthplace of beer culture, is exceptional. We also recommend a beer bike tour that takes you to more than 10 breweries in Yokohama.