Today marks a milestone for Shizen Capital which warrants a moment of celebration.

In May, we introduced the Sprout GP-in-Training program to play our small part in combating the pervasive diversity problem in VC in Japan. We evaluated several impressive candidates over the summer, and last month we hired Mayumi Wakebe as the inaugural Sprout participant.

Today, Mayumi closed her first investment transaction for Shizen. This will be the first of many. Congratulations Mayumi for a job well done ! 🥂

But wait, there’s more. It’s long overdue that we acknowledge the reliably heroic efforts of our talented colleague who coordinates our back office transaction execution: Mayumi Maruyoshi. Yes, she’s also named Mayumi, so consider this a Mayumi flex. 💪

Deep bow of gratitude to both Mayumi and Mayumi ! 🙇