Yoshito Hori: The Man Who Built Japan's Largest MBA — and Why He's Betting on Social Entrepreneurs

In 1992, Yoshito Hori did something unusual for a Harvard MBA graduate in Japan: he came home and started a business school.

Three decades later, GLOBIS University is Japan’s largest MBA program, with over 100,000 alumni. GLOBIS Capital Partners has invested in more than 150 companies. And Hori himself has become one of Japan’s most influential voices on entrepreneurship, leadership, and the role of business in society.

At Tech for Impact Summit 2026, Hori will open the program with a session on “Entrepreneur’s Social Contribution” — drawing on his experience building KIBOW, a social impact initiative born from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

From Tohoku to Impact

When the earthquake and tsunami struck in 2011, Hori didn’t just write a check. He created KIBOW — a platform that has since deployed impact investments and organized hundreds of events connecting entrepreneurs with social challenges across Japan.

KIBOW represents something important about Hori’s worldview: business leaders don’t just have a responsibility to create economic value. They have a responsibility to solve problems that markets alone won’t address.

This philosophy has shaped GLOBIS itself. The university doesn’t just teach strategy and finance. Its mission — “creating a society where people can find and pursue their life’s purpose” — is embedded in a curriculum that treats leadership as fundamentally about service.

Why Social Entrepreneurship Matters for Japan

Japan sits at a unique intersection of challenges and capabilities:

• An aging society creating enormous demand for innovation in healthcare, eldercare, mobility, and community design
• Regional decline as young people concentrate in Tokyo, leaving rural communities struggling to maintain basic services
• Deep institutional trust that makes Japan fertile ground for social enterprises that partner with government and large corporations

Hori has argued for years that Japan’s next wave of great companies won’t come from copying Silicon Valley. They’ll come from entrepreneurs who see Japan’s social challenges — aging, depopulation, regional inequality — as market opportunities.

The GLOBIS Ecosystem

What makes Hori’s perspective particularly valuable is that he operates across the entire entrepreneurship stack:

• Education: Training the next generation of business leaders at GLOBIS
• Capital: Deploying venture capital through GLOBIS Capital Partners
• Community: Connecting entrepreneurs through G1 Summit (Japan’s premier leadership conference) and KIBOW
• Media: Reaching millions through GLOBIS Unlimited, one of Japan’s largest business education platforms

Few people in Japan have as comprehensive a view of the country’s entrepreneurial landscape — or as much influence over its direction.

What to Expect at the Summit

Hori’s session will explore the intersection of entrepreneurship and social contribution, featuring perspectives from the KIBOW network and beyond. For attendees who believe that business can and should be a force for social good, this session sets the tone for the entire day.

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Tech for Impact Summit 2026 takes place April 26 at Kioi Conference, Tokyo. Request your invitation →