The official opening ceremony for a business incubation facility funded by Qatar Friendship Fund (QFF) was held in Sendai on Oct. 14, 2016.
The INTILAQ Tohoku Innovation Center aims to foster entrepreneurship and is operated by IMPACT Foundation Japan, which has been engaged in nurturing Japan’s next generation of global leader.
The Qatar Friendship Fund (QFF), created with a $100 million donation to support the relief efforts for the victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, believes innovators could have a positive impact on local communities and society. Intilaq means start, or launch in Arabic.
The celebration took place in the presence of Qatar’s Ambassador H.E. Mr. Yousef Mohamed Bilal and Mr. Khalifa Jassim Al-Kuwari, director general of Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), which oversees QFF.
During the ceremony, Mr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, co-founder of the IMPACT foundation Japan, welcomed the creation of a facility that can support those who want to take on new challenges and rejuvenate Tohoku.
Sendai Mayor Emiko Okuyama noted in her speech that she was delighted to see the launch of an innovation center that encourages entrepreneurs from Tohoku to make advances in the world, thanks to the generous assistance of QFF.
Al- Kuwari stressed the amount of the financial assistance by the QFF, worth around $15 million, shows how important the incubation center is to the fund.
Since its launch in 2012, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the QFF has provided financial aid to 12 projects with the mission to help restore the hopes and dreams of the victims in Tohoku. The projects cover four fields, namely children's education, fisheries, healthcare and entrepreneurship.
According to the Mitsubishi Research Institute, the overall economic effect of the QFF for Tohoku is estimated at a single –year effect of about Y12 billion for fiscal 2016and around 180 Billion yen over the next 10 years.
QFF projects have benefited more than 600 thousand people in the affected regions.