NTT DOCOMO, INC., a Japanese mobile operator and provider of integrated services centered on mobility listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges, is launching a 10-billion-yen ($125m) fund and incubation program.
The DOCOMO Innovation Fund and the DOCOMO Innovation Village incubation program, which will be established by March 31, 2012, will aim to upgrade smart-device services and technologies in the company’s existing fields of business, accelerate development of business models, services and technologies for eight new strategic fields, including Media/Content, Finance/Payment, Commerce, Medical/Healthcare, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Aggregation/Platforms, Environment/Ecology, and Security/Safety.
In details, the DOCOMO Innovation Fund will invest in promising startups and venture companies, primarily in Japan, that possess innovative business models or advanced services or technologies related to mobility and have the potential to be developed as all-new or upgraded offerings from parent DOCOMO.
Some of the targets are expected to come from the new DOCOMO Innovation Village incubation program, which will support startups and venture companies with resources and know-how, including office space and other infrastructure conducive to business development, and organize gatherings of company builders to hear presentations by expert corporate managers. The Village also will collaborate with domestic business incubators.
FinSMEs
29/10/2012