Murakami Shinkin Bank and Regional Innovation Co-Creation Platform Partner to Promote DX for Regional Enterprises

## Overview of the Press Release
Murakami Shinkin Bank (Headquarters: Murakami City, Niigata; Chairman: Kazuaki Igarashi) and the Regional Innovation Co-Creation Platform (Headquarters: Suginami-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Shota Ishikawa) have agreed to form a partnership to promote digital transformation (DX) for businesses in the Murakami region and to stimulate regional revitalization.

This initiative treats the bank's internal DX and the DX of local SMEs as a 'dual-track' system, providing end-to-end companion support from strategic formulation to implementation and long-term anchoring.

### Background of the Partnership
In rural areas facing depopulation and business succession challenges, strengthening competitiveness and operational efficiency for local firms is critical. Many SMEs recognize the need for DX but struggle with where to begin.

Murakami Shinkin Bank, rooted in the community, and the Regional Innovation Co-Creation Platform, with its proven track record in DX strategy and talent development, will leverage their respective strengths to improve the effectiveness of DX in the region.

### Overview of Collaboration
(1) Internal DX for Murakami Shinkin Bank
Supporting the bank in becoming a DX-driven organization through process improvement, data utilization, and enhancing staff digital literacy.

(2) DX Support for Local Enterprises
Providing companion support for local firms in DX strategy, execution, and integration. Support ranges from organizing management issues to operational improvement, revenue growth, and human resource development.

### Future Outlook
The partners aim to create DX success stories in the Murakami region and ripple them out to the rest of Niigata Prefecture and beyond. Future plans include seminars, individual consultation meetings, and joint projects for local businesses.