About us
Based in Japan, GEMSTONE is a team of professionals creating businesses/projects that solve important social issues and lead to a brighter world. We believe in the power to maximize both passion/values and professional expertise. We work with various partners including corporations, non-profits, development agencies, governments and individuals, in Japan and emerging countries.
Our logo represents our philosophy of “Co-envision, Co-lead, and Co-create”.
The bird in the center represents our hope to “co-create brighter direction”. Diverse group of people connected by their values and passions, unleashing their full potential. This leads to a rich ecosystem expanding, connecting and harnessing businesses and teams. We stand here to create this change.
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1Support developing businesses in emerging countries
- Planning, implementation and promotion support of a new business
- Identification and partnership building with local stakeholders
- Project management support
- Local needs and business environment research
- Social impact evaluation and management
- Planning and execution support in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)/social businesses
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2Create and implement social impact businesses
- Operating Social Venture Co-creation Program (Co-Pro) in emerging countries
- Management and team building support for social ventures
新興国ソーシャル
ベンチャー共創プログラム
(インドネシア) -
3Accelerate individual and organizational development through coaching and workshop facilitation
- Workshops on social impact business development for private sector
- Coaching and workshops for individual development
- Workshops and lectures on business and international development/ SDGs.
社会企業家育成
“虎の巻”制作支援
(日本)
(ETIC.)経営伴走支援
(日本)
(カルミナ)
図書館振興 事業開発支援
(ミャンマー)
(TRC)
有機きのこ生産事業(*)
(ブータン)
(Haruka International)
JICA BOPビジネス連携促進
採択案件
ヘルスケア製品開発・販売事業(*)
(ケニア)
(ROHTO)
JICA BOPビジネス連携促進
採択案件
(*)前身組織の実績です
Hideki has extensive experience in business development and operations in overseas markets through his work at Yanmar Co., Ltd, and Yanmar America, a world-leading manufacturer of diesel engine and agricultural machinery. He brings a wealth of creative insight in international development from his experiences living or working in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Hideki holds an MBA from University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom, a Post-graduate Diploma of Development Studies from the Institute of Developing Economies Advanced School, IDE-JETRO, Chiba, Japan, and a Bachelor of Arts from the International Christian University in Tokyo.
- What is your personal vision that you pursue and realize through your life? GEMSTONE is a group of professionals who share personal visions leading towards a brighter world, based on deep empathy.
- While I was born in Japan, Pakistan was the starting point of my life. Bouncing along dirt roads with my family, we visited many villages, and met everyone from a regional king to poor children without legs living on the streets. Overall, I liked living in a foreign culture and interacting with local people. But I wondered where the huge difference between rich and poor came from. At the same time, my father seemed to struggle with his relationship with his organization. His struggle was passed onto the family and has influenced my personality as well. These moments of wonder and pain became the seeds of my lifetime goal to empower people to live their lives to their fullest and creating sustainable businesses/projects to mitigate poverty, and I have been developing myself accordingly.
- At university, I studied international development with a focus on Asia, and interned at an educational NGO in Phnom Penh. When I saw how this NGO spent more time on fundraising than serving their constituents, I began thinking that a self-sustaining, social-entrepreneurial approach could create more impact effectively.
- I then joined Yanmar Co. Ltd., a leading agricultural machinery manufacturer, where I gained great experience in business development and implementation, and operations management in a foreign country. I developed a business plan to enter the North American tractor market, executed the start-up of the tractor business, and reformed and managed production control in our US factory, and l led corporate strategy and M&A projects.
- In 2010, I started making the transition towards my personal vision. I first joined JETRO Institute of Developing Economies Advanced School where I studied International Development. At the MBA program at the University of Oxford, I studied business management with colleagues from 51 countries. I focused especially on studying social entrepreneurship and built work experiences through actual projects such as a business development consulting project with an Indonesian NPO.
After returning to Japan, I co-founded ORINUS PARTNERS, Ltd., in 2015 with a mission to develop businesses which provide solutions to social issues in developing countries. And, in 2017, I changed the company to the current organization, GEMSTONE, to focus more on the core values that I wanted to pursue. I changed the management structure, people to work with, and approach to create social impact. At GEMSTONE, empathy, empowerment, excitement, personal vision and wholeness stands as core values. Then, we use logic, strategy and planning to realize this vision. - I wish to live in a world with businesses and projects that are filled with an individual’s passion. This will result in a lively and joyous world which will help solve social issues. In order to realize this dream, we work in teams supplementing each other’s experiences and skills, giving each other courage and energy, and sharing joy and struggle with each other. Things that cannot be achieved or not enjoyed alone can be done with joy when you work together in a great team. On the other hand, it is difficult for me to tolerate a complete denial of an individual’s passion with over thinking, fear and an established system.
- We create businesses and projects that passion shines around the world, such as ongoing projects like a library creation and promotion project in Myanmar, and social venture co-creation program in Indonesia. All of these businesses are the crystallization of the passion of the individuals involved in the project. Our journey will only get more exciting. We look forward to meeting and working with those who wish to paint an exciting future together.
- April 1st, 2019