Key facts
- The academy will be housed in the renovated former Towa High School building in Hanamaki city, which has closed.
- Insignia will run 10- to 12-week curricula in English and Japanese and provide short-stay housing.
- The basic agreement runs for five years; Iwate is considering subsidies and support for incorporating locally.
- Insignia will also offer training programs to Iwate residents who do not join the academy.
- Tan said he wants to make Iwate, which he called an undiscovered gem, the Davos of Asia.
Insignia Ventures Partners, a venture capital firm based in Singapore, will set up an academy to train aspiring entrepreneurs in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan, with an opening targeted as early as fiscal 2027. The prefecture and the firm signed a memorandum of understanding on October 29 at a hotel in Morioka during the Iwate International Innovation Convention, according to a report by the Yomiuri Shimbun.
The academy will occupy the renovated building of the former Towa High School in Hanamaki city, which has closed. Insignia will run 10- to 12-week curricula in English and Japanese and provide housing for short stays, the Yomiuri reported. The basic agreement is valid for five years, and the prefecture is considering subsidies for the opening and support for establishing a local corporation. Insignia will also offer training programs to Iwate residents who do not join the academy.
At the signing ceremony, Governor Takuya Tasso said education is the most important investment and called the agreement a big step toward drawing investors and entrepreneurs from Japan and abroad to Iwate. Tan said Iwate is a gem not yet known to the world and that he wants to make it the Davos of Asia, referring to the Swiss town that hosts the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.