Samurai Incubate targets Tel Aviv

The visit follows a wave of political good will between the two nations that was strengthened last week when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet approved a trade agreement that promised -among other things - a 45% rise in Japanese tourism by 2017 and a 50% increase in annual Japan-bound exports to $1.1 billion by 2020. 

Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-headquartered early-stage investor, sought to ride the crest of this wave by revealing that it will dedicate half of its latest fund to Israeli start-ups. The JPY1 billion ($8.3 million) fund is the fifth to be launched by the incubator and for Samurai Incubate the strategy is long overdue.

"Honestly, I don't know why more Japanese investors aren't rushing into Tel Aviv," Shohei Ando, the enthusiastic operations manager at Samurai Incubate, tells AVCJ. "The city is full exciting new businesses and technology, and has already attracted a number of Chinese companies - but very few Japanese investors active in the country."

Ando is part of the three-man team posted to the company's new base of Israeli operations in Tel Aviv, Samurai House In Israel (SHI). The thesis is pretty straight forward - offering capital and office space to Israeli start-ups with global growth potential, while in turn providing Japanese investors and strategics with links and exposure to these start-ups and their technologies.

Approximately half the capital will be deployed in Israeli companies, with the other half put to work in Japan. The fund is targeting a final close of JPY1 billion by the middle of the year but if investor appetite is sufficient the vehicle could double in size.

"We are trying to build a bridge between the countries and invite out Japanese companies and CEOs to see what is happening here," says Ando. "So far, the response has been good and a lot of people are changing their mind about Israel."
The plan is to back around 30 Israeli and Japanese companies over the next year, each one receiving around JPY1 million.

Samurai Incubate started to look at Israel after forming connections with Israeli entrepreneurs attending it Tokyo-based incubator program. These connections have already yielded a healthy pipeline of deals; Samurai Incubate made its first two investments in the country via its previous fund: Zerobillbank, a platform for micro-donations, and Aniwo, a Japanese-founded online fundraising platform.

"Our incubator is open for everyone and we have already attracted a lot of attention from Israeli entrepreneurs and investors," he says. "Israel is a small country adn the networks are very strong, so investors introduced us to start-ups and vice-versa. It really was quite viral and our network has grown fast."

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• Topics
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• MENA
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• Samurai Incubate Fund
• MENA
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