Dentsu Inc. Participates in Japan's First FinTech Industry Hub "Fino Lab" Opening in Otemachi Area — Building an Ecosystem to Create New Financial Services That Transform Society —

Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu International Information Services announced on January 15th their participation in the opening (February 1, 2016) of The FinTech Center of Tokyo Fino Lab (Fino Lab), Japan's first industrial hub supporting and accelerating the growth of startups in the Financial Technology (FinTech) sector, through collaboration with Mitsubishi Estate.

Fino Lab will be an industrial hub specifically targeting "FinTech" companies—those within the rapidly growing and expanding technology startup sector that specialize in the finance field. Overseas, numerous new services combining technology with a consumer perspective are already gaining traction. Recognizing that Japan must not fall behind globally in financial innovation, Fino Lab will be established in the Otemachi area, the core of the Tokyo International Financial Center initiative, aiming to create new industries.

The Dentsu Group does not view FinTech-driven reform as a phenomenon confined solely to the financial industry. It believes this transformation uses digital power to reshape how people interact with money in all aspects of life, the mechanisms of money movement, the interface between money and people, and the very concept of money itself. Simultaneously, it views this transformation as capable of altering people's lifestyles and even their worldviews. In this sense, Fino Lab is expected to contribute to improving people's quality of life and, ultimately, to the development of society as a whole.

Dentsu Inc. has long pioneered new business domains from the consumer's perspective and the standpoint of demand. With the launch of Fino Lab, we will now produce the ecosystem for this transformation. In forming this ecosystem, we will closely collaborate with the Financial Innovation Association "Finovators"*, scheduled for establishment in January 2016, which brings together volunteer professionals from various FinTech-related fields (lawyers, investors, entrepreneurs, financial practitioners, etc.). Furthermore, by providing startups with the marketing and branding resources and solutions cultivated by the Dentsu Group, we will promote support for these companies' businesses and their entrepreneurs.

<Fino LabOverview>

Name: The FinTech Center of Tokyo Fino Lab

　　　　　URL: http://FINOLAB Inc.jp/

Opening Date: February 1, 2016

Address: 14F, Tokyo Bankers Club Building, 1-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Business Activities: Hosting events (seminars, matchmaking events, etc.) to support startups in the FinTech field; providing mentoring by internal and external experts; creating presentation and matchmaking opportunities with domestic and international investors and consumers; promoting joint research between FinTech startups and participating companies; and fostering the FinTech ecosystem.
Prior to the official opening of Fino Lab, collaboration has already commenced with the FinTech venture Liquid Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Yasuhiro Hisada). The company's innovative fingerprint authentication technology has been adopted for the lab's access control system.

■Fino LabLogo

*"Finovators" is a pro bono group formed by professionals aspiring to drive financial innovation in Japan, who gathered to build an ecosystem. It is scheduled to register as a general incorporated association in January 2016, with its head office at the planned Fino Lab location. All members, including the Representative Director, participate in a personal capacity and plan to provide mentoring to startups and make policy proposals to the public sector. Members include lawyers, consultants, investors, technologists, and executives from FinTech mega-ventures.

Dentsu Inc. News Releasehttp://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2016/0115-008632.html