Why its hard for startups to use technology for good

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges startups face in using technology for social good, featuring an interview with Yosuke Kaneko of Sora Technology, who is tackling malaria with drones in Africa.

New technology is always introduced with the promise of the good it can do for humanity. Most of the time the promised good never come to be. This is largely a structural problem ib how startups are funded, and some founders are creating a better way. Today we talk with Yosuke Kaneko, founder of Sora Technology, who is using drones to fight malaria in Africa. The technology is a perfect fit, but it was hard to address this problem as a startup. We talk about the challenges of using technology to solve important, but only marginally profitable problems, and why the unique nature of Japan's startup ecosystem might provide the solution. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes How drones can find mosquitos that humans can’t Why real done innovation continues to come from the global South Why it's getting harder to build a drone startups in Japan Moving from a good idea to getting the first contract The difficult business model of doing good How to continue growing long-term The impact of regulations on drone innovation The truth about the startup scene in Nagoya and Aichi The current state of drone startups in Japan How to get Japanese companies exporting…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Romero

Guest: Yosuke Kaneko

Topics covered

• technology for good
• startups
• drones
• malaria
• Japan's startup ecosystem
• business models
• innovation

Keywords

• startups
• technology
• drones
• malaria
• Japan
• business models
• innovation
• social good
• funding

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sora Technology

Places: Africa, Japan, Nagoya, Aichi

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