SKIYAKI Enters Fintech Business Through Capital and Business Alliance with Nudge

~ Promoting the 'Creator Bank' concept to support entertainment businesses financially ~

Space Shower SKIYAKI Holdings Group's SKIYAKI Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tomohiro Kokubo; hereinafter 'the Company') has entered into a capital and business alliance with Nudge Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takashi Okita; hereinafter 'Nudge'), which provides the next-generation credit card 'Nudge'.

Through this alliance, the Company aims to enter the credit card issuing business utilizing Nudge's 'Credit Card as a Service (CCaaS)' platform by this summer, aiming to build a new revenue model that fuses existing entertainment businesses with Fintech.

Background and Purpose of the Alliance: Expanding the Entertainment Economy

The Company has continued to grow steadily by developing businesses centered around the entertainment domain, such as fan club platforms and music media. This alliance is an open innovation initiative aiming to create new value by combining the Company's strong creator network and fan base with Nudge's flexible financial solutions.

This initiative goes beyond a mere business tie-up; it builds a strong partnership through a capital investment in Nudge. The Company positions this initiative as the first step in its 'financial expansion' that will dramatically increase revenue opportunities for creators active in the entertainment sector.

First Phase of the Initiative: Launch of the New App 'Bitfan Card'

As the first phase of the alliance between the two companies, we will provide a new fan experience that combines the Company group's creator network with the 'Oshikatsu (supporting favorites) Card' business model pioneered by Nudge.

In this business, rather than simply issuing a co-branded card, we will utilize the Company's proprietary smartphone app 'Bitfan Card', which is based on Nudge's foundational system.

This will seamlessly link the fan club functions operated by the Company with credit card payments, providing a highly convenient and enthusiastic 'Oshikatsu experience' for fans.

Future Outlook: Realizing the 'Creator Bank' Concept Based on Timeline

The core of this alliance lies in the 'Creator Bank' concept, which goes beyond the credit card business to transform the cash flow of the entertainment industry. Utilizing Fintech and data, we will build a new financial scheme in three phases: short, medium, and long term.

[Short-term] Liquidation of Fan Club Revenue (Immediate Funding) We will quickly build a mechanism to liquidate future receivables such as fan club membership fees (via factoring, etc.) to immediately provide the funds necessary for creator activities. This will dramatically improve the cash flow for creators.

[Medium-term] Utilization of Investment Crowdfunding We will introduce a mechanism to procure funds for live tour production costs through investment crowdfunding. In addition to diversifying funding methods, we will create a new participatory entertainment model where fans can participate as 'co-hosts of live events'.

[Long-term] Provision of 'Creator Credit' Through Proprietary Scoring By accumulating and analyzing 'fan engagement data' possessed by the Company and 'payment data' possessed by Nudge, we will develop a proprietary credit model that evaluates the future potential of creators. We aim to establish a position as a 'financial infrastructure' that realizes financing and business support for creators, which has been difficult for traditional financial institutions to evaluate.

Representative Comments

Tomohiro Kokubo, CEO, SKIYAKI Inc. 'The fusion of entertainment and finance is an important pillar of our growth strategy. With an innovative partner like Nudge, I am confident that we can create an 'economic zone' that goes beyond the boundaries of fan clubs. In the future, we will strive to increase our corporate value by becoming an infrastructure that supports artists' creative activities from a financial perspective.'

Takashi Okita, CEO, Nudge Inc. 'We are very honored to have a deep collaboration accompanied by a capital alliance with SKIYAKI, which has one of the largest creator networks in Japan. By fusing our financial system infrastructure with SKIYAKI's fan engagement capabilities, we will update Japan's 'Oshikatsu' culture through the power of finance.'

Company Overview

SKIYAKI Inc. Location: Dogenzaka-dori 7F, 2-25-12 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Representative: Tomohiro Kokubo, CEO Business description: Platform business URL: https://skiyaki.com/

Nudge Inc. Location: 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Representative: Takashi Okita, CEO Business description: Fintech planning, development, and operation Provision of 'Nudge' 'Credit Card as a Service (CCaaS)' business URL: https://nudge.works/