Stayway, Operator of Subsidy Cloud, Completes Secondary Financing

Stayway Inc. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; Representative Director: Jun Sato; hereinafter "Stayway"), which operates "Subsidy Cloud," a management support service utilizing subsidies, announced that it has completed secondary financing for a portion of its shares held by existing shareholders, with regional financial institutions, operating companies, and venture capitalists as underwriters.

Background of Implementation: Building "Growth Investment Infrastructure" with Regional Financial Institutions and Administration

Stayway has been deepening close collaboration with regional financial institutions and administrative bodies nationwide, which are essential to regional communities, through "Subsidy Cloud," which promotes the DX of subsidy application support operations. Currently, the total amount of capital investment support has reached 336 billion JPY, and through partnerships with over 70 financial institutions nationwide, we are building a "DX infrastructure for subsidy utilization" to enable regional SMEs to execute growth investments.

Currently, national policy-driven growth investments are steadily expanding, focusing on "17 key investment areas" such as AI, semiconductors, and decarbonization. However, on the ground, a "structural bottleneck" continues to occur due to the following three challenges:

・Information Barrier: Over 9,000 systems are in disarray, making it difficult to find the optimal system.

・Application Barrier: Strict screening requires advanced expertise and enormous man-hours.

・Funding Barrier: Subsidies are "post-payment," making it difficult to bear the financial burden at the time of investment execution.

Therefore, Stayway will further deepen its collaboration with regional financial institutions and administrative bodies to steadily deliver the fruits of national policy to regional industries in all 47 prefectures.

Aim of This Round: Towards an Ecosystem that Unlocks the Potential of Regional Economies

In this round, regional financial institutions, operating companies, and others with strong foundations across the country participated as investors. Maximizing this strong network, we will strategically promote the following as the "47 Prefectures Local Startup Strategy":

Expansion of community-based DX support system nationwide: We will further strengthen collaboration with regional financial institutions and administrative bodies to create an environment where SMEs across Japan can equally enjoy growth opportunities.

Evolution into a comprehensive management platform: Based on the on-site knowledge cultivated through subsidy DX, we will now provide comprehensive solutions tailored to the growth stages of SMEs, including finance, M&A, and management strategy support, through the utilization of financial data and management information.

Reliable implementation of growth investments in collaboration with administration: We aim to build an infrastructure that supports the sustainable growth of industries across all 47 prefectures by working as "One Team" not only with financial institutions but also with administration to reliably implement national and local government growth investments at the local level.

List of Stock Transferees

・Value Chain Innovation Fund Investment Limited Partnership

・JA Mitsui Strategic Partners Co., Ltd.

・Kepple Liquidity No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership

・Fidea Corporate Growth Support Fund Investment Limited Partnership

・Regional Revitalization Niigata No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership

・QR No. 2 Fund Investment Limited Partnership

・Yamanashi Sustena Investment Limited Partnership and Yamanashi Chugin Management Consulting Co., Ltd.

・Osaka Shoko Shinkin Bank

・Iwagin CVC No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership

・NOBUNAGA Raise Fund Investment Limited Partnership

・Aigin Venture Fund No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership

Comments from Investors

■ Mr. Hiroshi Oka, General Partner, Spiral Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (Operating Value Chain Innovation Fund)

We are very pleased to have this opportunity to invest in Stayway. The Subsidy Cloud provided by the company offers effective subsidy support to financial institutions and other support organizations, as well as their SME customers, and is becoming an important foundation for encouraging corporate challenges. Going forward, we expect the company's medium- to long-term growth as a supporter who solves all corporate management issues with subsidies as a hook.

■ Mr. Shogo Takita, Representative Director and President, JA Mitsui Strategic Partners Co., Ltd.

While subsidy utilization is an effective means to encourage corporate investment decisions, it faces many challenges in terms of system complexity and operational aspects. Stayway's various businesses, including subsidy DX, solve these challenges and strongly support the sustainable growth of companies, and we believe they have high affinity with our group's business.

Going forward, through further collaboration triggered by this investment, we will contribute to realizing our customers' business future and, ultimately, to building a prosperous society.

■ Mr. Takahiro Kanzaki, Representative Director, Kepple Group Co., Ltd.

We are very honored to be able to join Stayway as a shareholder.