Borderless Japan to Launch Selective 'BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP' for Students Graduating by 2028

Borderless Japan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture; CEO: Kazunari Taguchi; hereinafter "Borderless Japan") will launch its first selective 3-day program, "BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP," for students expected to graduate by March 2028.

This program will select up to 10 students nationwide to form teams and challenge themselves to build a business around a single social issue over three days. Participants will thoroughly explore the root causes of the issue, identify target customers, define value propositions, design business models, and develop growth strategies to ensure impact extends beyond small-scale initiatives.

Social entrepreneurs from the Borderless Group, who have launched over 50 social businesses across 15 countries, will mentor participants throughout the three days, providing feedback from the same perspectives used in actual business development and management. This initiative aims to shift participants' mindset from "wanting to engage with social issues" to "creating businesses that drive social change," serving as a new graduate recruitment initiative to discover and nurture the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

From "wanting to engage with social issues" to "creating businesses that drive social change"

Climate change, poverty, educational inequality, regional decline, refugee crises—interest in social issues is growing, and the ways to address them are diversifying. Career options for solving social issues—through NPOs/NGOs, government, large corporations, startups, research, or investment—have expanded significantly compared to the past.

Among these, Borderless Japan aims to increase the number of "social entrepreneurs" through its graduate recruitment.

Rather than merely "engaging" with social issues, social entrepreneurs confront the systemic structures that perpetuate these problems, create and grow their own ventures, and drive societal change. Since its founding in 2007, Borderless Japan has launched social businesses addressing various social issues, including poverty, refugees, climate change, education, and regional challenges. From this experience, we value ensuring that social issue solutions do not end as "small good deeds."

Starting by helping one individual at a time, we aim to create systems that reach more people and transform society itself. To achieve this, we need not only strong passion for social issues but also the ability to build a "business" that customers choose and that continues to grow.

Therefore, as a new initiative by Borderless Japan, we are launching the "BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP," where students will seriously challenge themselves to create ventures starting from social issues.

Selecting up to 10 students: Three days of building ventures that drive social change

BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP differs from typical recruitment events where participants listen to company presentations or solve prepared case studies. Up to 10 students selected nationwide will form teams, confront a social issue, and conceptualize a venture from scratch.

Over three days, participants will tackle everything from identifying the root causes of a social issue to defining customers, value propositions, business models, and growth strategies. Rather than stopping at ideas like "it would be nice if this service existed," participants will repeatedly question whether their venture can truly solve the social issue, whether customers will genuinely choose it, and how they can generate greater social impact—refining their venture concepts through this process.

Three key features

- Conceptualizing a venture from scratch, starting from a social issue

Teams will confront a single social issue, analyze its background and structure, and over three days, conceptualize a venture that balances social and economic value—from identifying root causes to defining customers, value propositions, business models, and growth strategies.

- Condensing insights from developing over 50 social businesses

The program incorporates Borderless Japan's accumulated insights from launching over 50 social businesses. Participants will experience the entire social venture creation process in one go—from structural analysis of social issues to venture design, marketing, and growth strategies.

- Active social entrepreneurs mentoring for three days

Social entrepreneurs from the Borderless Group, who have launched and managed ventures that solve real social issues, will participate as mentors and feedback providers. They will offer feedback from the same perspectives used in actual business development and management, working with participants to refine their ventures.

BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP is not a program that ends with participants presenting venture ideas after three days. After the program, we plan to offer internships and practical opportunities for participants who wish to further refine their ventures. We aim to connect the ideas born at BOOT CAMP and the participants' desire to "do more" with opportunities to test and continuously improve them in real society.

We are looking for students who:

For this BOOT CAMP, having a predefined social issue or venture idea is not a requirement.

- Want to make solving social issues their life's work

- Hope to someday create and manage their own business

- Want to generate significant impact while balancing social and business value

- Are passionate about social issues and want to seriously consider how to use their abilities, even without a concrete venture idea

Social entrepreneurs participating in BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP

- Kazunari Taguchi: Representative Director & CEO, Borderless Japan

- Setsu Hanzawa: Representative, Borderless Academy

- Teruki Yoshida: Representative, Post & Post

- Masato Nakamura: Representative, Sunday Morning Factory

- Mikiho Mine: PR, Borderless Japan

Numerous other social entrepreneurs will support participants as mentors.

BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP Overview

Eligibility

- ① Expected to graduate from high school, technical college, university, or graduate school (domestic or international) by 2028

- ② Able to attend the following schedule

Duration

Kickoff + 2 nights and 3 days (residential)

Schedule

- September 30 (Wed): Kickoff (online)

- October 9 (Fri) – 11 (Sun): BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP (Fukuoka Office)

Location

- Kickoff will be held online via ZOOM

- BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP (Day 1–3) will be held at the Fukuoka headquarters

※ Travel expenses for offline participation will be at the participant's own cost

※ Accommodation will be arranged by us at no cost to participants

Selection Process

- Application

- Submission of entry sheet

- Document screening

- Interviews (2 rounds)

- Notification of results

Application Deadlines

- First deadline: September 6 (Sun) 23:59

- Second deadline: September 10 (Thu) 23:59

※ Screening will be conducted on a rolling basis upon application completion

Application and Details

BORDERLESS BOOT CAMP Special Website

https://borderless-japan.com/lp/bootcamp/

◼ About Borderless Japan Co., Ltd.

Founded in 2007 as a company dedicated exclusively to solving social issues through social business. Operates 48 ventures across 15 countries, addressing issues such as poverty, environment, education, and gender. Projected revenue for FY2025 reaches 10.5 billion yen. Its ecosystem for continuously producing social entrepreneurs has been recognized with the Good Design Award Business