LINE Yahoo Launches Customer Growth Consortium

LINE Yahoo! Japan Corporation launched the “Customer Growth Consortium,” which aims to promote business growth for small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 99.7% of Japanese companies, and revitalize regional economies.

This consortium is an organization that aims to support the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises and revitalize regional economies by having LINE and Yahoo act as a hub, providing a common platform called “LINE,” and establishing a support system that combines the strengths of each partner according to function.

LINE Yahoo! aims to create a “life platform” where everyone can enjoy the benefits of digital technology at every point of contact in their lives. Because we provide something that everyone can use as an integral part of their lives, we have a social responsibility to create an environment that does not create regional or company-size disparities in promoting this platform.

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Through partnerships within this consortium, we aim to create equal opportunities for digital engagement for all businesses and promote regional revitalization.

Currently, the digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of regional economies, is an urgent necessity. However, the environment for introducing and operating tools “easily, inexpensively, and effectively” is not yet fully established. The “White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises” published by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency highlights three specific obstacles to SMEs advancing digitalization: the “cost barrier” stemming from high introduction costs and difficulty in seeing return on investment; the “IT literacy barrier” where companies cannot determine the most suitable use cases and methods of application for their own business; and the “operational barrier” due to a shortage of personnel for promotion and operation, which is cited as a challenge by more than 50% of companies.

In addition, functional fragmentation exists among support partners (agencies, etc.), making it difficult for a single company to provide comprehensive support, from tool provision to in-depth operational support and sales assistance. This is one of the factors hindering the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

SOURCE: PRTimes