Sayaka Watanabe, 27, co-founder of Welgee is the winner of the Parisian final of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2018, the award aimed at women entrepreneurs who offer the best innovative solutions to the most pressing social and environmental challenges on a global level. Let’s see what your company does:
Welgee (the name derives from the case of the words “Welcome” and “Refugee”) is an organization that has distinguished itself for the revolutionary method of integration of refugees and asylum seekers who come to Japan.
The project is based on a widespread homestay system and on the possibility of recovering and rebuilding abandoned hostels and houses, “shared” by migrants and locals. Furthermore, for refugees who have a work visa, Welgee provides a matching service with companies looking for qualified foreign workers.
The impact solutions identified by Ms. Watanabe respond to an urgent difficulty of Japanese society, where only 1 in 1,000 applicants obtain refugee status in a year, and after spending an average wait of 10 months.
“What we want to do is to give foreign people who want to stay in Japan an opportunity and maximize their potential”
said Watanabe, determined to leave a positive impact in the world. May his commitment be a source of inspiration for future entrepreneurship!