【April Dream】Creating a New Market: "Policy Capital Strategy" for Startups

Policy Capital × AI × Knowledge × Open Innovation. Connecting four forces to pioneer a new era with challengers.

Our company endorses April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to express dreams. This press release is the dream of Startup Lab Inc.

In Japan, there is diverse "policy capital" such as subsidies, grants, and policy finance. However, in reality, much of it remains underutilized and is not being converted into energy for corporate challenges and innovation. Our dream is to change this situation.

Our sincere dream is to position policy capital not merely as a subsidy, but as "strategic capital" that supports startup growth, expanding it as a new option for growth funding alongside venture capital and bank loans. We aim to realize such a world.

Therefore, our company proposes a new concept to the startup industry: "Policy Capital Strategy." Policy Capital Strategy is a management strategy that systematically utilizes public funds such as subsidies, grants, and policy finance as a corporate growth strategy.

By re-conceptualizing policy capital as a "strategy," we believe that the potential of Japanese startups and challenging companies will further expand. Our company will continue to connect challenging companies with policy capital, creating a new market of "Startups × Policy Capital" in Japan.

📌 Challenge: Funds exist, but they are not reaching those who challenge.

In Japan, numerous policy capitals exist. Mechanisms to promote innovation, such as subsidies from the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, grants from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and R&D funds from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, are actually well-developed. However, in reality, information on these systems is fragmented, procedures are complex, and utilization is difficult without specialized knowledge. The opportunity cost of "I could have used it if I had known" is quietly accumulating throughout Japan.

Funds that should originally support challenges remain dormant, and startups give up on their dreams due to lack of funds—we want to change this wasteful reality.

🌸 Our Dream: Spreading the concept of "Policy Capital Strategy" itself

What we propose is a new way of thinking: "Policy Capital Strategy." Until now, startup fundraising primarily involved options like investments from VCs and bank loans. However, policy capital is another important capital that can support business growth without repayment or equity dilution. We aim to position it not as a "lucky subsidy" but as strategic capital integrated into business plans.