Waffle to Launch “Waffle Empower Next Program” Supporting Girls and Non-Binary Students to Build AI-Powered Services and Pursue Entrepreneurship

Waffle, a specified nonprofit corporation based in Minato-ku, Tokyo and led by Chairperson Sayaka Tanaka, will hold the “Waffle Empower Next Program,” an entrepreneurship development program for girls and non-binary university, junior high, and high school students who aim to build AI-powered apps and services and pursue entrepreneurship. The program will begin with a three-day camp from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9, 2026, and will provide five months of support through a Demo Day scheduled for December. Waffle is now broadly recruiting participants. Background: As of 2024, women are estimated to account for less than 10% of startup founders in Japan, a large gap compared with the 20% range in the United States and Europe. The share of female students in university engineering departments in Japan is about 15%, among the lowest in the OECD, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2023. These figures indicate that opportunities for women to start businesses in technology have not structurally reached them. In the AI era, it has become easier for anyone to turn ideas into reality. Waffle planned this program to provide students with a practical opportunity to experience how entrepreneurship using technology and their own fields of interest can become a career option. Program content: With the rapid evolution of AI, it is now possible to turn ideas into products even without specialized programming knowledge. Through the development of AI-powered apps and services, the program will consistently support participants as they build working products from scratch and release them to the world, ultimately aiming for entrepreneurship. It is designed to remove the barrier of thinking “I can’t do it because I lack technical skills,” while preparing the mindset and environment needed to take the first step as an entrepreneur. Even those who have never considered starting a business can gain the experience that careers are something they can create themselves. The program will also include seminars by overseas women entrepreneurs to foster a mindset for global business development. Program overview: The program is open to girls and non-binary university, junior high, and high school students who aim to use AI to develop apps or services and pursue entrepreneurship. It will run from August to December 2026, with the camp held from August 7 to 9 and Demo Day planned for December. The format combines a three-day intensive camp in Tokyo with five months of ongoing support. Participation is free, though some actual expenses such as lunch may be required. Applications are available at https://college.waffle-waffle.org/empower-next . The program will be implemented as a selected project under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s startup support initiative by diverse actors, TOKYO SUTEAM. Over approximately five months, the program will include a camp from August 7 to 9, 2026 in Tokyo, where participants will use AI to develop and release apps or services during an intensive three-day session. They will experience a cycle of receiving user feedback and improving their products within the camp. On the final day, they will deliver a formal pitch to judges from Tokyo-based companies and investors. From September to November 2026, post-camp support will continue through monthly mentoring and an online community, helping participants acquire their first users and improve their products. In December 2026, a Demo Day will be held in Tokyo, where participants will present the results they have built since the camp to investors, Tokyo Metropolitan Government representatives, and mentors. Media representatives who wish to request interviews should contact Waffle through the inquiry form: https://waffle-waffle.org/contact/ . Waffle is a nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology by empowering women and non-binary people and transforming social structures. It offers a range of educational programs, including “Waffle Club,” where beginners can learn about careers and product development once a month; support for participation in Japan in the international app development competition “Technovation Girls”; and various events in collaboration with companies. Waffle also actively works to correct social structures through policy recommendations, including proposals related to Japan’s Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform. In 2020, it received the SDGs Partnership Award at the 4th Japan SDGs Awards. Its major publication is “Watashi x IT = Saikyo Setsu,” published by Little More.