G-CHALLENGE 2025 Finals at GLOBIS University: Winning Teams Secure Up to 10 Million Yen Funding Opportunity

February 2, 2026

CATEGORIES:GLOBIS UNIVERSITY

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TOKYO (February 2, 2026)—The Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University hosted the final presentation for the GLOBIS Venture Challenge (G-CHALLENGE) 2025, a business plan contest for all current students and graduates, at its Tokyo Campus on Sunday, February 1.

After reviewing the presentations of the 8 finalists, 3 teams, KataLink, yuppa Inc., and House AI Concierge were awarded the Grand Prize. The KIBOW Award, which considers social impact as an additional criterion, was won by H2 Milk Farm in India. All winning teams have the opportunity to receive an investment of up to 10 million yen in their businesses.

Among the competing teams, a team from the English MBA program reached the final round for the first time since 2022.

Winning Teams

Grand Prize Winners:

KataLink

Representative: Kaede Nakazawa (GLOBIS University Tokyo Campus, Class of 2024)

KataLink is a sales management support AI SaaS designed to eliminate individual dependency through a systematic improvement framework.
Many sales organizations struggle with 1on1 meetings and reviews becoming mere formalities, instead of contributing to improvement and growth. Consequently, skills and know-how remain dependent on individuals, creating challenges in sustainable training and performance. The “ACE Sheet” visualizes and evaluates sales skills at a behavioral level, and the “Goal Management Board” supports a cycle of continuous improvement through both quantitative and qualitative reviews.
Composed of members with top-tier sales and organizational experience at major listed SaaS firms and engineers from SaaS startups, KataLink aims to create sales management where anyone can achieve highly reproducible results.

yuppa Inc.

Representative: Hiroshi Watanabe (GLOBIS University Osaka Campus, Class of 2024)

Under the theme “Adding a playful spirit to health,” yuppa Inc. develops the healthy fast-food brand “yuppa.”
While health consciousness is rising, the dinning-out industry often falls into a trade-off where food is either “convenient but unhealthy” or “healthy but unsatisfying.” Using Kyoto’s high-protein Nama-Yuba (fresh soy milk skin), yuppa Inc. offers healthy fast food that combines volume, texture, and a fun experience. By ensuring quality through in-store production and simple operations in urban locations, we provide a “daily healthy dining-out choice.” Founded in April 2025 and having secured seed funding in May, yuppa Inc. aims to use the rise of health consciousness and demand for high-protein foods for multi-store and overseas expansion, providing a new dining experience that simultaneously satisfies nutrition, taste, and fun.

House AI Concierge

Representative: Masatoshi Umemura (GLOBIS University Tokyo Campus, Class of 2016)

Housing AI Concierge is a platform focused on the housing industry that leverages generative AI and aims to transform the custom home buying experience.
The housing market currently suffers from a mismatch: users are overwhelmed by excessive information and cannot make decisions, while housing companies struggle to fully communicate their unique value. Housing AI Concierge supports the entire decision-making process—from organizing ideal housing conditions and matching users with companies to the post-contract deliberation phase. The goal is to create an environment where users can choose with confidence and housing companies are able to highlight their strengths.
Composed of consultants, sales, marketing, and AI analysts, Housing AI Concierge aims to establish a new standard for home selection in the AI era by matching undecided users with a suitable housing agency.

KIBOW Award Winner:

H2 Milk Farm in India

Representative: Hideya Iemura (GLOBIS University Sendai Campus, Class of 2017)

With a mission to modernize India’s dairy industry, H2 Milk Farm in India provides SaaS solutions and human resource development for medium-sized farmers in regional cities.
India is the world’s largest producer of raw milk, and while demand is expected to grow further, rural areas face challenges such as insufficient infrastructure and inefficient production structures.
Leveraging H2 Milk Farm in India’s unique strength as the first Japanese company to be established and operated a dairy production corporation in Northwestern India, the team is building a platform that integrates on-site DX and HR. Alongside a highly specialized Japan-India team, aiming to implement a sustainable agricultural model and improve farmer productivity through individual cattle data analysis and scoring.

Final Selection Panel

Yosuke Inoue
- Faculty Member, GLOBIS University
- Leader, Creation Faculty Group
Suzuka Kobayakawa
- Faculty Member, GLOBIS University (Teaches courses such as Social Venture Management)
Natsuki Tamura
- Leader, Venture Support Team, GLOBIS
- Investment Professional, KIBOW Impact Investment Fund
Koji Torigata
- Faculty Member, GLOBIS University (Teaches courses such as Venture Management)
Reiji Yamanaka
- Faculty Member, GLOBIS University (Teaches courses such as Venture Capital and Finance and Social Venture Management)
- Managing Partner, KIBOW Impact Investment Fund

About GLOBIS’s Venture Ecosystem

GLOBIS Group actively encourages entrepreneurship, business development and growth of start-up companies through incubator and accelerator initiatives G-INCUBATE, G-CHALLENGE, G-STARTUP, and G-GROWTH, fostering a comprehensive venture ecosystem.

Entrepreneurship Curriculum, Research & Startup Project, and Network of Entrepreneurs

GLOBIS University offers a dedicated entrepreneur (creation) curriculum with venture-focused courses such as Venture Management and Venture Business Planning, which draw on successful examples of venture companies.

Research & Startup Project G-INCUBATE is designed as a six-month preparatory track for students aiming to compete in the G-CHALLENGE, providing support to build and refine a business plan. GLOBIS University also provides both students and alumni various entrepreneurial support mechanisms, such as mentoring for those aspiring to start a business and support with executing new businesses.

The GLOBIS Entrepreneur’s Club (GEC), an officially recognized student association with over 4,000 members, serves as a key channel for aspiring student and graduate entrepreneurs to build relationships.

G-GROWTH Investment Program for Alumni Startups

In October 2018, GLOBIS Alumni Growth Investment (G-GROWTH) was launched, an investment program aimed at fueling the growth of venture businesses started by current students or graduates.

G-STARTUP Accelerator Program

In April 2019, GLOBIS introduced G-STARTUP, an accelerator program aimed at seed-stage entrepreneurs, aspiring to foster a platform that produces 100 unicorn companies. The program supports startups expected to grow into Japan’s leading venture companies. Participants receive lectures from successful entrepreneurs and startup support specialists. Venture capitalists from GLOBIS Capital Partners provide mentorship and hands-on product and business development support.

About G-CHALLENGE 2025

G-CHALLENGE aims to create more entrepreneurs for tomorrow’s business world. It provides a platform for students and graduates to compete with their business plans and secure startup funding. The contest has the additional goal to help ventures gain a foothold from the GLOBIS community to eventually grow into big startups in the future.
Investment is provided from a joint fund between GLOBIS University and GLOBIS Corporation. Award winners gain the opportunity to receive up to 10 million yen in funding. Evaluation criteria include the business plan’s market potential, competitive advantages, feasibility, profitability potential, in addition to aspects such as the benefit to society, the team’s ambition and kokorozashi, and affinity with the GLOBIS’s educational philosophy.
Since its inception up until this year’s contest, 509 teams have participated, with many GLOBIS students taking their first steps toward their future in entrepreneurship. This year, 47 teams applied, with eight teams advancing to the final selection round, leveraging their learnings from the GLOBIS MBA and post-graduation startup support structures.

Eligibility, Winner Benefits and Selection Process

For more information about G-CHALLENGE, visit the GLOBIS University website.

About GLOBIS University

Founded in a small rented classroom in 1992 by renowned entrepreneur Yoshito Hori, GLOBIS University has grown to become the largest business school in Japan and aims to become the “world’s No. 1 MBA in the Technovate era.” With the principles of fostering skill development, a professional network, and a personal mission, the institution is committed to developing visionary leaders who create and innovate societies. GLOBIS University proudly supports a vast international faculty, seven locations in Japan, and international hub locations in Singapore, Bangkok, San Francisco, Brussels and Manila. English MBA program offerings include a la carte Pre-MBA courses, a one-year Full-time MBA, a two-year Part-time and Online MBA, and nano-MBA courses combining live classes, self-paced learning formats, and AI-powered feedback.
GLOBIS University continues to expand its curriculum with course offerings in digital technology and entrepreneurship, promoting business mastery in an age of global innovation.

About GLOBIS

Since its foundation in 1992, GLOBIS has fostered a vision to create and innovate societies by fostering management ecosystems of people, capital, and knowledge. Today, the company is involved in a range of activities, from higher education and corporate training to venture capital. GLOBIS also operates the G1 Institute and the KIBOW Foundation, both non-profit organizations to promote creativity and innovation in society. The GLOBIS MBA and corporate training programs are offered both online and in person across Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, the USA, Belgium, the Philippines and Indonesia. GLOBIS University is the proud home of Japan’s largest MBA and is rapidly growing to claim this title for all of Asia.