Moon Japan Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop (held on May 18, 2023) ~ Kasaoka Commercial Kasa SHOP Research Group Seriously Engages in Entrepreneurship

Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School has a unique group called Kasa SHOP.

The Kasa SHOP, which conducts its own activities, is not part of club activities or student council activities, but is actually composed of volunteer students and teachers.

The research team of Kasa SHOP contacted us to inform us that they would be attending the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop by Moon Japan, so we visited Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School.

We will convey the details of the social entrepreneurship workshop attended by 8 second-year students and 4 third-year students.

The information provided is based on the article published in June 2023. Please note that it may differ from current information.

What is Kasa SHOP at Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School?

Kasa SHOP, composed of volunteers within Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School, is divided into product development, tourism, and research teams to engage in community contribution activities.

The general activities are as follows:

Product Development Team…Product development in collaboration with local businesses and sales at various events
Tourism Team…Tourism tours of the Kasaoka Islands and industrial tourism tours of local businesses
Research Team…Participation in innovation contests and business idea contests to solve local issues, and creation of promotional videos for Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School

On May 18, 2023 (Thursday), the research team attended the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop by Moon Japan.

The research team is serious, having won the Grand Prize in the High School Division of the Okayama Innovation Contest (1st place for high school students) on November 27, 2021, with their project titled Living Fossils and Human Coexistence - Saving Humanity! Horseshoe Crab Farm.

Since 2021, they have been conducting research daily to participate in contests every year.

To broaden their horizons further, they decided to attend the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop.

What is the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop by Moon Japan?

Let me introduce the LLC Moon Japan, which conducts the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop.

Moon Japan is a project organization established with the aim of "high school student entrepreneurs visiting junior high and high schools nationwide to spread social entrepreneurship through experiential programs."

At the time of its establishment, many of the members were high school students, but as of June 2023, the entrepreneurs visiting various schools are high school and university students.

The Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop held at Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School consists of the following components.

Self-introduction and sharing of experiences through entrepreneurship
Explanation of what social entrepreneurship is and why it is necessary in today's world
Experience the process of social entrepreneurship in the workshop
Presentation of ideas generated during the workshop, calling for recognition of business styles aimed at solving social issues

First, the members of Moon Japan introduce themselves and share their experiences.

Experience of Fujita Gaku, CEO of Moon Japan

Fujita Gaku is a first-year university student and the CEO of Moon Japan.

After explaining his past activities, he spoke to the students about what Moon Japan is currently working on.

His story about establishing NOMAH (NoMore Asian Hate) in response to the Asian hate he experienced was thought-provoking and likely empowered the students to take action.

Experience of Imai Tomoki, COO of Moon Japan

Imai Tomoki attends a high school in Kyoto while serving as the CEO of Ligula and the COO of Moon Japan.

He was a former intern with the Community Revitalization Cooperator in Kasaoka City and continues to value his connection with Kasaoka City even after his term ended.

He shared with the students about the activities of Ligula.

Imai's story as a high school student and social entrepreneur must have been inspiring for his peers.

Why is social entrepreneurship necessary in today's world?

Next, they began by understanding the differences between traditional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship.

They introduced the concepts clearly to the members of the Kasa SHOP research team by comparing what should be prioritized and how profits should be used.

Then, they learned about the social significance of why high school students should engage in social entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurship among high school students

They empathized with the idea that "having less life experience can also mean being free from conventional thinking, making it easier to generate innovative ideas," and that "the generation of high school and university students must become the stakeholders who must solve these issues, allowing them to think of it as their own problem."

Fujita emphasized, "Always maintain a sense of problem awareness. When thinking about how to solve that problem, I want you to know that there are various ways to approach it."

Students of Kasaoka Commercial High School listening intently

Members of the research team listen intently to the talks of Fujita and Imai.

Having grasped the basic aspects of social entrepreneurship, they are now ready to start the workshop.

Experience the process of social entrepreneurship in the workshop

Since the members of the research team were in the process of planning to participate in a business idea contest, the time to practice the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop was precious.

The workshop began with filling out the Lean Canvas.

Once the Lean Canvas was filled out, they started mentoring based on it.

Participating as mentors were Terada Iori, CEO of kakeruX, and Matsubara Yuki, an intern with the Community Revitalization Cooperator in Kasaoka City (at the time of the interview).

Filling out the Lean Canvas

The Lean Canvas consists of filling out the following 9 items.

Problem…What is the problem that needs to be solved?
Customer Segment…What kind of customers will be targeted?
Unique Value Proposition…What unique value can be proposed to address the problem?
Solution…How will the problem be solved? (to be described in a somewhat specific manner)
Channels…Through what means will the value proposition be delivered?
Revenue Streams…How and when will revenue be generated?
Cost Structure…What will the costs be?
Key Metrics…What metrics will be used to measure growth?
Unfair Advantage…What is the overwhelming advantage we have over competitors?

The Lean Canvas is characterized by its ability to visualize and validate business ideas quickly and clearly.

It allows for efficient refinement and makes it easy to share understanding among members, making it commonly used when considering startup business models.

This time, the members of the research team began the task of visualizing their business ideas by writing them on the Lean Canvas.

They had 10 minutes to fill out the Lean Canvas items!

It's tough. Will they be able to complete it in 10 minutes?

They discuss and brainstorm the items of the Lean Canvas together.

The discussion is in serious mode.

The items of the Lean Canvas are being filled in rapidly.

In the workshop, there were 2 groups of second-year students and 1 group of third-year students.

Each group actively shared their opinions as they aimed to complete the Lean Canvas together.

Still, 10 minutes is short. It's a tough workshop (laughs).

Mentoring based on the Lean Canvas

After the 10 minutes of filling out the items, the next step is to propose the problems and solutions to the mentors.

The students, told to "express your thoughts to the mentors!", convey what they want to solve to the mentors.

If they get stuck on solutions, they seek the mentors' opinions and refine the Lean Canvas.

As they summarize the discussed content, the items from 1 to 9 are completed.

Despite the short time, some groups managed to fill in all the items and reach the presentation stage!

Group presentations of what was filled in the Lean Canvas

After the mentoring while filling out the Lean Canvas items, it was time for each group to present.

They presented what they had summarized within the time limit and clarified the current issues.

Presenting the summarized parts is very important.

Even midway through, presenting allows them to objectively reflect on their Lean Canvas.

Both groups that were able to present all items and those that were still in progress listened intently to each other's content.

Towards the next business idea contest

The Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop by Moon Japan attended by the Kasa SHOP research team from Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School must have been a very valuable time for the members who are thinking about business models daily.

Before the lecture began, they were lively and chatting like modern high school students, but once the lecture and workshop started, their expressions changed completely.

"I want the students to have various experiences and be inspired," said the teacher in charge, Azuma Yoshinobu.

Moon Japan's activities, which involve traveling nationwide to provide high school students with the Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop, are meaningful in breaking down the barriers of experience that were thought to be "impossible in rural areas."

The Social Entrepreneurship Experience Workshop held at Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka Commercial High School conveyed the seriousness of the Kasa SHOP research team.

The contests that the research team is challenging include the "Okayama Prefectural High School Student Commercial Research Presentation Competition," "Okayama Innovation Contest," "High School Business Plan Grand Prix," and "National High School Business Idea Contest."

I hope they absorb various things and take on the next business idea contest.