Singapore Japan Mobile Labs (SJ Mobile Labs), a new venture focused on fintech innovation in the Japanese market, has raised a US$ 2.85 million seed round.
The round was led by Saison Capital and joined by Apis Insurtech Fund I and Anthemis Group.
The company had recently appointed Yasunori Kume as its Chief Operating Officer and Koshi Watanabe as its Head Of Legal Compliance.
Additionally, SJ Mobile Labs has appointed several advisors, including Masashi Yamashita who was previously at Lawson Bank and Shinsei Bank, and Shigesuke Kashiwagi of EQT, previously at Schroders and Nomura Holdings.
SJ Mobile Labs was created by Samantha Ghiotti, Liam McCance and Andre Bose Do Amaral to help Japanese consumers access a trusted mobile financial experience.
“We are delighted to be backed by a strong Japanese finance brand through Saison Capital and global fintech investors Apis Partners and Anthemis Group. We are now on our way to becoming a trusted presence in Japanese households.
In addition to a great lineup of investors, we have convened a world class advisory board with hands-on expertise in banking, asset management, insurance and technology and made key appointments as we focus on building our bench strength in Japan,”
said Samantha Ghiotti, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
“With over USD 18 trillion of zero yielding assets and being ranked world’s second largest insurance market by premium, the Japanese consumer segment represents a huge opportunity for financial technology entrants.
We plan to provide a positive financial experience and appeal to a segment looking for simple products, readily accessible and with radically transparent, genuine, financial advice.”
added Liam McCance, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of SJ Mobile Labs.