From Womenomics to Founder-nomics: Kathy Matsui on the Unfinished Revolution
25 years after coining 'Womenomics,' Kathy Matsui reflects on backing female founders, navigating the ESG backlash, and why Japan's investment playbook needs rewriting.
In 1999, Kathy Matsui published a research report at Goldman Sachs estimating that closing the gender gap in workforce participation could boost Japan’s GDP by as much as 15%.
She called it Womenomics. The term went into the policy lexicon, fed into Prime Minister Abe’s economic platform, and put Japan’s gender gap on the agenda of global investors. Twenty-five years on, Matsui runs a venture fund.
MPower Partners
Matsui is General Partner of MPower Partners, Japan’s first ESG-focused global venture capital fund. The fund backs companies where environmental, social, and governance factors are part of how the business competes, rather than a reporting task.
ESG under pressure
Major US asset managers are retreating from climate pledges, and European regulators keep revising their sustainability rules. Japan has had less of a public fight over it so far.
At Tech for Impact Summit 2026, Matsui takes part in a fireside chat titled “Womenomics to Founder-nomics: Rewriting Japan’s Investment Playbook.”
Questions on the table:
- Has Womenomics delivered? Where has progress stalled, and which structural barriers remain?
- Can ESG survive the backlash? How should impact-focused investors adapt?
- What does “founder-nomics” look like? How MPower finds and funds the next generation of Japanese entrepreneurs
For investors
Japanese government support for startups has grown, and female founders still receive less than 3% of venture funding in the country. MPower invests in those founders directly.
Tech for Impact Summit 2026 takes place April 26 at Kioi Conference, Tokyo. Join the 2027 waitlist →