FY 2024
Tokyo Financial Award“Financial Innovation Category”
Application Guidelines for Companies
1.

Program Objectives
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) aims to become an "Innovation andFinancial Hub in Asia" for realizing a sustainable society. To this end, the TMG is
promoting initiatives to realize an advanced sustainable financial city and a city where
globally active start-ups are created, taking advantage of the “Special Zones for Finance andAsset Management Business," designated in June 2024.
The Tokyo Financial Award is held to recognize initiatives that create innovation in thefinancial sector and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society through the powerof finance.
The application guidelines are for companies that propose solutions to the needs and issues
set by the TMG to be solved in the "Financial Innovation Category" of the Tokyo FinancialAward.

2.

Type of Solutions to be Sought
The Tokyo Financial Award is seeking solutions through "new services". "New services"

are defined as 1. completely new services, 2. services that have not been released in Japan, 3.
existing service with added new functions, etc. or 4. services with added values, such as pricereduction, through introducing new technologies, etc.
Note that only one new service per business may be submitted when applying for asolution (multiple applications are not accepted).
3.

Target Companies
The target companies are those that fulfill all the conditions set out hereunder:(1)

The companies shall be domestic or foreign financial businesses (including FinTechcompanies) that are either doing business in or plan to do business in Tokyo and fulfill
the requirements of “2. Type of Solutions to be Sought.” Note that businesses applyingfor the Sustainability Category of the Tokyo Finance Award, which will also be open for
submissions, may also apply for the Financial Innovation Category, but will be eligible
to receive an award in only one of the two categories.

(2) The companies that do not have an office in Tokyo as of the application deadline arerequired to have an intention to establish an office in Tokyo.
(3) If a company, which has received support for improving its financial services through1

specific projects*, such as the Accelerator Program, passes the initial screening for thisproject, the company may not be eligible to receive the same type of support services
under this project if the company proposes the same financial services for which it hasreceived support in the past. The applicants shall acknowledge to that effect.
*The support programs implemented by the TMG and The Organization of Global
Financial City Tokyo (FinCity.Tokyo), namely, “Project to Discover and Attract
Foreign Companies,” “Project to Discover and Attract Foreign Financial Companies,”“Accelerator Program,” “Asia-specific Accelerator Program,” “Green Finance Subsidy
Program for Tokyo Market Entry,” and “Tokyo Financial Award.”(4)

The companies shall comply with “7. Terms of Participation”, as described in these
Guidelines when selected in accordance with ４(1) below.

(5)

The companies shall not have received any penalties for violation of laws andregulations, nor have they been subject to any dispositions such as revocation ofpermits, licenses, etc., or payment of money, nor are they in danger of being subject toany such dispositions at this point in time.

(6)

The companies should not be in arrears with the payment of taxes in its home country
or any country of operation(7)

The companies should not have violated any contract or agreement with a public bodyin its home country or any country of operation.

(8)

The companies should not be considered a threat to public safety or welfare.

(9)

The companies should not a corporate body whose purpose of business is political, orreligious, including electoral activities.

(10)

The companies shall not be an Organized Crime Group (an Organized Crime Groupas stipulated in item (ii) of Article 2 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance forEliminating Organized Crime Groups (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ordinance
No. 54 of 2011; hereinafter referred to as “Organized Crime EliminationOrdinance”)), and must not have an Organized Crime Group Member, etc. (a memberof an Organized Crime Group as stipulated in item (iii) of Article 2 of the Organized
Crime Elimination Ordinance, or someone related to an Organized Crime Group asstipulated in item (iv) of the same Article) among the representatives, executives,employees, or other members of the corporation.

4.

Judging Process and Number of Companies to be Selected
A judging panel will be established to carry out the following.

(1) First-stage Screening: The judging panel will select the companies (around fifteen
Japanese and foreign companies) that submitted the most outstanding solutions (ideasand plans) for the designated needs and challenges. (Scheduled around September22024)(2) Final Screening: The judging panel will select and rank three companies that propose
superior products and services among those embodied by the businesses selected in thefirst-stage screening in (1) above. (Required to give a presentation on the products andservices that have been brushed up during the period of the support program.
(Scheduled around January 2025))(3) Judging Criteria
Evaluation Items

Description (Additional information)
 Is the issue (subject/story) to be solved clear?

Degree to which the solution
matches the relevant theme (socialissue)
Proposed solution’s technologicalinnovativenessProposed business model’sinnovativenessSocial impact

 Is the scope of impact wide enough?

Usability Is the proposed solution useful/understandable tousers?
 Is the solution feasible in the next 1-2 years, and is it

Proposed solution’s feasibility

well-founded?
 Is the proposal relevant to an area or initiative that isInternational competitivenessinternationally recognized?
Relevance and compatibility with theTMG’s initiatives
Example: “Global Financial City;
Tokyo” Vision 2.0, Future Tokyo;
Tokyo’s Long-Term Strategy; Tokyo
Bay eSG Project, etc.
Potential for collaboration withcompanies in Tokyo
Base establishment/ Business(Companies not yet expanded into Tokyo)

expansion Is the timing/certainty of establishing a base in Tokyo(expanding business in Japan) clear?
(Companies already expanded to Tokyo)
 Is the timing/certainty of the planned businessexpansion clear?

3

5.

Number of Winners
Three businesses

6. Benefits(1)

Support ProgramThe Support Program described below will be provided free of charge to the businesses
selected in 4(1) above to brush up the products and services developed and offered by thebusinesses selected in the first-stage screening.
①

Introductory seminar (September 2024 to October 2024):
The seminar will provide explanations on the FinTech market, laws and regulations,and commercial customs in Japan, TMG’s policies to attract foreign companies, andmore.

②

Mentoring and business meetings (October 2024 to February 2025):
Mentors will hold business meetings (about once a week) for participating businesses tobrush up their services or products. For domestic companies, support is provided forsending information overseas, if necessary.

③

Opportunities to participate in networking events (October 2024 to February 2025,
about once a month):
The selected companies are required to participate in the networking events at least once.

④

Provision of business matching opportunities (October 2024 to February 2025):
The selected companies are required to participate in business matching withcompanies (including financial institutions) in Tokyo. Business matching here refers tojoint R&D, sales tie-ups, etc. with companies in Tokyo.

⑤Participation in the Demo Day and award ceremony (After February 2025)
A presentation meeting will be held where participating businesses present theservices/products that they have brushed up through the support program. All theselected companies are required to participate in the Demo Day to introduce theircompanies and to communicate externally their services/products that they havebrushed up during the support program. The winning firms are also required toparticipate in the award ceremony and prepare presentation materials anddemonstration videos that include their company introductions and the services andproducts that they have improved during the support program period and todisseminate them externally.(Companies, organizations, and media interested inbusiness matching with participating businesses, including companies in and out ofTokyo, investors in and out of Tokyo, foreign embassies and chambers of commerce inJapan, government officials, and experts (lawyers, accountants, tax accountants, etc.),4

are scheduled to participate.)⑥

Follow-up Program (From the Demo Day/Award Ceremony till the end of March2025);“Business Development Center TOKYO”* will continue to support the advancement toTokyo, including the procedures required to establish an office in Tokyo.
* Business Development Center TOKYO: Comprehensive support office of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government that provides one-stop business and lifestyle support forforeign companies※ ① to ⑥ may also take place online.

(2) Presenting of Awards and Prize Money at the Award Ceremony (total sum of 18 millionyen):
From among the companies selected in the first-stage screening (described in section 4(1)), those who meet certain standards (top 3 companies) will receive an award and prize
money based on their ranking at the ceremony slated in after February 2025. Rankings will bedecided in the final screening (section 4 (2)), and the amounts of the prize money are 10
million yen, 5 million yen, and 3 million yen, in descending order from first place.
7. Terms of Participation
Companies selected to participate in the Support Program shall comply with the following.
（1） In principle, participation in 6 (1) ① to ④ above is mandatory. Businesses that are
unable to participate due to special circumstances should contact the Secretariat inadvance and confirm the details separately.
(2) Participation in６(1) ⑤ above is mandatory.
（3） If a selected company is found to have violated any of the items listed above in section
3, or found to be engaged in activities deemed by the TMG as inappropriate for aparticipant of the Award and subsequently, cannot offer the TMG a valid explanation,
their selection as a winner and award may be revoked even after the conclusion of theaward ceremony. In such a case, the businesses concerned shall agree to return theprize money received to the TMG without delay.
(4) Selected companies shall agree to cooperate in providing any necessary informationnecessary for screening or answers to questions, etc., to ensure that the evaluation
process proceeds smoothly.
(5) In principle, decision makers (CEO, COO, etc.) should participate in all the programs.
（6） Selected companies shall pay for their own international travel costs, accommodation
costs, travel costs within Japan, meal costs and all other related costs.
(7) Selected companies shall consent to the disclosure of information such as the name and5

outline of the project on the TMG's website.
（8） Winning companies are required to regularly submit a progress report (approximatelythree times a year) until the proposed services are put into practical use.
8. Points to Keep in Mind when Applying(1) Handling of personal data submitted upon application
Program applicants shall agree to the following:
・ Personal data submitted in an application form will only be provided to and usedby the TMG, the Tokyo Financial Award Secretariat, the mentors, and businessmatching partners only for the purposes of the Tokyo Financial Award.
・ Applicants shall obtain consent for the above use from the individuals whosepersonal information they have entered in the application form. In addition, theapplicants for the program shall be deemed to have agreed that the personal
information entered in the application form will be provided to the TMG, theSecretariat, the mentors, and business matching partners within the scope of theabove-mentioned purposes of use upon submission of the application for theprogram.
・ Part of the information registered in a language other than Japanese upon
application shall be sent to Google and temporarily stored in order to be translated
into Japanese by the Secretariat on behalf of the TMG using the Google Translatetool.
*When using Google Translate to translate portions of data submitted byprogram applicants, Google will temporarily store the inputted texts on theirservers in order to send back the requested translation.
*Generally, the stored texts will be deleted after a few hours. However,depending on the status of Google’s systems, texts may be stored for a longer
period.
*For details on Google’s data security measures, please refer to the following
site:(https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/datasecurity/index.html?hl=ja）(2) Submitting the personal data of individuals residing in the EU
In addition to the conditions above, residents of EU countries shall also agree to thefollowing terms before applying for the program:・ Submitted personal data will be sent and stored in a server located in Japan. Japan
has received an adequacy ruling by the European Commission and the personal
data of applicants will be securely stored to the TMG and the Secretariat.

6

・ Portions of data submitted by program applicants will be translated into Japanesewith the Google Translation tool. In this case, inputted data will be sent to Google
and stored temporarily on their servers. Google protects the security of data inaccordance with the security measures established for its cloud services.
(https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/datasecurity/index.html?hl=ja）
・ The data subjects may request access to their personal data, correction of
inaccurate personal data, or restrictions on data processing of their personal data.
9. Applying for the Award
Companies that wish to apply for the award should access the application form on theTokyo Financial Award website and fill in the necessary information and confirm applicationby the application deadline.
(1) Application procedure:
Access the application form from the website of the Tokyo Financial Award.

Complete all required fields in the application form.

Confirm all fields are correct before submission.

（2）Deadline for submission:
11:59 p.m., Friday, August 30, 2024 (Japan Standard Time)（3）Selection process, etc.
After the application deadline, the judging panel will strictly select the applicants forthe award, and the result of the first-stage screening will be disclosed on the website.
For the final screening, the results will be announced at the Award Ceremony slated inafter February 2025. The selection process will not be made public, and no inquiries
will be responded to.

For questions concerning the Tokyo Financial Award, contact“2024 Tokyo Financial Award” Secretariat at
tfa@jp.ey.com

7