Mynavi Corporation (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Executive Officer: Yoshiaki Tsuchiya; hereinafter “Mynavi”) has made an investment in the social issue-resolving Finnish startup Gubbe Sydänystävä Oy (Head office: Espoo, Finland; Co-Representatives: Sandra Lounamaa, Meri-Tuuli Laaksonen; hereinafter “Gubbe”). This marks the first time that Mynavi has invested in a Nordic company.

 

 

Similar to Japan, Finland and Sweden have rapidly aging societies, characterized by many elderly people living alone. The Nordic countries are also known for their extensive social welfare, but government is not yet sufficiently handling mental care of the elderly.

Seeking to resolve the issue of mental care of the elderly, Gubbe began business in 2018 with two women serving as co-representatives. Since its founding, Gubbe has provided caregiving services, offering support in daily life and mental care to elderly people living alone. At this time, it has expanded its business to the three countries of Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Young support staff, referred to as “Gubbe Helpers,” visit the elderly, provide support such as accompanying them on walks or when shopping, and provide mental care such as engaging in communication as conversation partners. In this way, they realize increased physical activity, more stable mental health, and improved quality of life for the elderly.

Moreover, Gubbe develops and provides an application that makes it possible to collectively manage processes from the hiring of Gubbe Helpers and user matching to service usage management, and is working to improve usability for both service users and Gubbe Helpers and to ensure transparency. Since these business schemes connect elderly people in need of support with helpers who perform that aid, providing value to both, it is anticipated that in the future, Gubbe will expand not only to Japan, which faces the issue of an aging society, but to other foreign markets as well.

With this investment, Mynavi will work toward leveraging both companies’ knowledge to contribute to the resolution of aging societies with low birth rates, as well as share information and collaborate with Nordic countries to realize sustainable societies.

 

▼ Mynavi Corporation Company Outline
Name: Mynavi Corporation
Location: 1-1-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Yoshiaki Tsuchiya, Representative Director, President and Executive Officer
Establishment: August 15, 1973
Website: https://www.mynavi.jp/


▼ Gubbe Company Outline
Name: Gubbe Sydänystävä Oy
Head office location: A Grid, Otakaari 5, 02150 Espoo, FINLAND
Co-Representatives: Sandra Lounamaa, Meri-Tuuli Laaksonen
Establishment: November 14, 2018
Website: https://fi.gubbe.com/for-investors