TOKYO (AP) – Tucked in a shabby alley of Shibuya, Japan’s Silicon Valley, is a startup that’s done the almost impossible: win funding from the country’s notoriously conservative banks.
It’s a hopeful sign the world’s third largest economy, known for tight regulations, the old boys’ network and adversity to risk-taking, may be warming up to new types of entrepreneurship.
Moneytree, with a staff of 18, has developed iPhone and iPad applications that allows people to track their expenses, bank accounts, credit card billing and other aspects of personal finances, attracting 850,000 downloads over three years.
The company has been a hit with the younger generation in Japan, who routinely use smartphones to pay for goods and services. Half the Moneytree users are women, unusual for financial applications, which tend to attract older men.
Founders say one reason for their success is how Moneytree is based on the old Japanese idea of “kakeibo,” a tabulated book housewives used before the arrival of computers to keep a daily record of household spending, which still resonates with Japanese.