Press Release

June 5, 2023
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

JAFCO Group to Start Collaboration with Co-nnect Inc.,a Provider of a Consultant Matching ServiceLaunching “OFFROAD LEAP,”a hand-in-hand program to accelerate new business creation
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keisuke Miyoshi, President & CEO;hereinafter referred to as “JAFCO”) hereby announces that it has started collaboration withCo-nnect Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Yu Sekine, CEO; hereinafter referred to as “Connect”) which operates the consultant matching service PROFFIT, to launch “OFFROAD LEAP,”a hand-in-hand program to accelerate new business creation by major companies.
“OFFROAD LEAP” application form: https://hubs.li/Q01S2SPQ0 (only in Japanese)■ Purpose and background of the collaboration
Promoting open innovation is one of the main priorities of the “Startup Development Five-yearPlan” announced by the Kishida Administration in 2022. At the same time, more than 1001 new
CVC funds were launched to foster new businesses over the last decade, which is a growing
momentum of collaborative efforts by major companies and startups to create new businesses. Onthe other hand, there still exist hurdles of launching a new business, such as “vague strategies orvisions,” “no reliable method for finding external resources” and “difficulties in building
partnerships with collaborators.”
JAFCO has invested in various challenges for the last 50 years and committed itself to creating
new businesses in present-day society, where creation and development of new businesses are arequisite against a backdrop of shortening lifecycle of products and services. Utilizing its networkof over 15,000 companies and expertise accumulated along the way, JAFCO will collaborate withCo-nnect, the operator of PROFFIT which supports matching between companies and consulting
firms based on a database of more than 300 consulting firms and over 2,500 consultants, toaccelerate new business creation.
For more information, please contact
pr@jafco.co.jp, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Press Release

June 5, 2023
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Note 1: Data compiled by INITIAL (as of January 27, 2023) on P.105 of “Japan Startup Finance2022”■ Hand-in-hand program to accelerate new business creation “OFFROAD LEAP”
Aiming to roll out full-fledged initiatives to create new businesses, JAFCO and Co-nnect on June5, 2023 will launch “OFFROAD LEAP,” a hand-in-hand program to create new businesses by
providing comprehensive support from identifying issues, sharing practical know-hows, tocollaborating with outside resources.
【Program outline】■Designed for: Company personnel in charge of new business / corporate planning■Duration: Open as needed and varies for each company depending on the innovation chart■Fee: Free of charge■Application form: https://hubs.li/Q01S2SPQ0 (only in Japanese)※The administration office will contact each applicant after reviewing the information entered in theapplication form.

＜For companies willing to provide support for new business launch:＞
Application form: https://hubs.ly/Q01S2Wq30 (only in Japanese)●Program (1): Identifying issues using the innovation chart
The levels of new business promotion and efforts at each applicant are quantified in the chart from
9 viewpoints, such as “entrepreneurial mindset,” “ability to conceive a vision” and “ability to verify
ideas,” necessary to work on a new business. The chart not only allows an applicant to objectively
assess its situation based on data that compares the applicant with several dozens of major
companies, but also learn the pressing issues to be addressed.

For more information, please contact
pr@jafco.co.jp, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Press Release

June 5, 2023
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

●Program (2): Practical curriculum and shared learning
The program provides opportunities for participants to learn together about new business creation,
share their passions and problems, and friendly compete each other. This is a program to further
deepen the knowledge and know-how offered through “OFFROAD,” which is a conference on newbusinesses creation within major companies and has attracted an accumulated total of over 4,700
applicants.
“OFFROAD 2022”special site: https://jafco-seminar.com/2022-s/ (only in Japanese)●Program (3): Supports to build a collaborative partnership
When considering external collaboration in business building, various hurdles must be cleared,
such as assessments of and communication with prospective collaborators/partners and internalapproval processes. To solve these problems, the program supports identification and proposal ofprospective collaborators/partners. JAFCO, which has strong ties with major companies andstartups, and Co-nnect, which supports matching between companies and consulting firms basedon a database of well-versed consultants and experts in a broad range of industries and topics, will
combine their mutual strengths to provide hands-on supports for the applicants.

Naoki Sato
Corporate Officer in charge of business development
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.
JAFCO makes bold investments in challenges that create unprecedented value and businesses andcommits to their growth with entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Opportunities to create
innovative businesses are not limited to entrepreneurs but open to major companies as well. Our
Business Development Division has backed the challenges taken on by major companies inlaunching new businesses by organizing conferences and communities, offering a matching service
with startups, and other means to address issues faced by major companies when launching a newbusiness.
There are many hurdles to overcome in order to create a new business. Clearing these hurdles
requires an ecosystem to unite the diverse wisdom and experience of professionals in various fields
and create the reproducibility of success. By launching the hand-in-hand program for new businesscreation “OFFROAD LEAP” with Co-nnect, JAFCO will take the next step forward in developing
the ecosystem along with people taking on the challenges of business building.

For more information, please contact
pr@jafco.co.jp, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Press Release

June 5, 2023
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Yu Sekine
CEO of Co-nnect Inc.
Representative Director of PROFFIT
Through PROFFIT, we support acceleration of problem solving for companies by connecting thewisdom and professionals that abound in society. For new business creation, in particular, theinitiatives and capabilities required vary greatly for each phase of preparation, which discourages
the companies by too many unfamiliar tasks and forces them to struggle alone. As a result, theyoften give up. Believing we must continue to carry the torch of entrepreneurship for corporatechallengers, we have collaborated with JAFCO and started to build an ecosystem for challengers
for new business. We will focus on things to be done, connect professionals who provide hands-on
supports, and connect companies which are running off-road together, with our aim of building afoundation for new businesses to make a “Leap” and realize a future where new businesses frommajor companies will flourish.

About JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.
Since its founding in 1973, JAFCO has always worked with leading-edge entrepreneurs. The total
capital commitments of its investment funds in Japan and overseas have exceeded ¥1 trillion andthe number of portfolio IPOs to date has reached over 1,000. In addition to venture investment,
JAFCO also carries out buyout investment and commit to the creations of innovative technologies
and services worldwide. As entrepreneurs’ closest partner in bringing their visions to life, JAFCO
provides support in areas of HR, marketing/ sales, and back-office operations, in addition toproviding financing.
Company name

JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

President & CEO

Keisuke Miyoshi

Headquarters

24F Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, 1-23-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Establishment

April 5, 1973

Capital stock

33,251 million yen

Stock exchange market

Prime Market, Tokyo Stock Exchange

Employees

147 (consolidated) as of end of March 2023

For more information, please contact
pr@jafco.co.jp, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

Press Release

June 5, 2023
JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.

About Co-nnect Inc.
Co-nnect operates PROFFIT, which is “a consultant-matching service” allowing corporate users
to receive opinions in accordance with their issues from among more than 300 consulting firms.
Co-nnect is committed to accelerating problem solving for companies by connecting
opportunities to utilize the know-how that only professionals in each field can provide. With apolicy to improve a company’s self-driving ability by using outsourcing only when it is truly
necessary, Co-nnect builds an ecosystem for problem solving where wisdom is refined andutilized.
Company nameCo-nnect Inc.

RepresentativeYu Sekine

Address

5F WORKEDITION NIHONBASHI, 10-13, Nihonbashi Tomizawacho,Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Establishment

January 2017

Websitehttps://proffit.jp/ (only in Japanese)

Business
description

Offers a platform for ordering consultants, planning and operation of businessseminars, business issue analysis, and career changing support for consultants
and corporate planners.

For more information, please contact
pr@jafco.co.jp, JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.