MPower Partners Fund, Japan’s first ESG-focused global venture capital fund, has published its inaugural Sustainability Report, which outlines the fund’s ESG-related commitments and resulting actions, for 2022. 

The report begins by introducing MPower’s approach to ESG and the MPower team. 

It then highlights the actions taken by ESG materiality and a few key outputs, such as research related to gender diversity and a joint report with BCG on the state of ESG in Japanese startups. 

Finally, the report shares the ESG journeys of a select number of portfolio companies. 

Access the full report here: https://speakerdeck.com/mpower_partners/2022-sustainability-report-en

Comments from General Partners Kathy Matsui, Yumiko Murakami, and Miwa Seki

"It’s been a little over 2 years since MPower launched in May 2021, and we are proud to share what we’ve accomplished in 2022 from an ESG perspective: how we’ve taken action according to environmental, social, and governance factors we feel are most material to our fund. In particular, our biggest accomplishments include our efforts around diversity, as well as increasing awareness and knowledge about ESG, in the Japanese startup ecosystem.

As you may know, we work with each of our portfolio companies to integrate ESG into their core business operations. All ten companies have commenced their ESG journey, and you can learn more about their processes and reflections in the second half of this report. 

We hope our report increases the awareness of some of our initiatives, as we are eager to engage with anyone who is interested in collaborating to revolutionize Japan’s startup ecosystem and enable sustainable, long-term growth for startups globally."

Comments from Principal and ESG Lead, Yuna Sakuma

Our 2022 results showed that we have strengths in diversity, equity, and inclusion and in ESG knowledge sharing. We also consider fund governance and taking climate action to be particularly important. 

In 2023, we are continuing to build on these strengths. Though the macroeconomic environment is uncertain, and there are increasing headwinds for ESG, we are encouraged by our team’s and our portfolio companies’ commitment to ESG. 

We are grateful for the support and collaboration of many people to make our ESG efforts possible. To the broader MPower Family — thank you! And we look forward to hearing from anyone who would be keen to work with us.

About MPower Partners 

MPower Partners Fund is Japan’s first ESG-integrated global venture capital fund that aims to support entrepreneurs providing solutions to societal challenges through the power of technology, and to promote sustainable growth by incorporating ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) into their core business strategies. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.mpower-partners.com

For inquiries, please contact: info@mpower-partners.com

This press release has been prepared for the purpose of providing information to qualified institutional investors and potential portfolio companies of the Fund, and is not a disclosure document pursuant to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation to purchase the Fund.