HIRAC FUND Invests in CI Partners, a Company Providing Support Services for Children with Disabilities and Employment Support

HIRAC FUND, operated by Money Forward Venture Partners Inc., a group company of Money Forward Inc., has invested in CI Partners Inc., which operates support services for children with disabilities and employment support services.

■Background of the Investment In disability support services in Japan, there exist structural issues such as a shortage of personnel to provide support※1 and the difficulty of ensuring proper management. Particularly pressing challenges include the management difficulties faced by small-scale providers and the difficulty of sustaining high-quality service provision in local communities. CI Partners, in which we have invested this time, is a startup with the mission to "eliminate the word 'disabled person' from this country." The company operates support services for children with disabilities and is efficiently increasing the number of its facilities through a roll-up strategy that balances the centralization of headquarters functions with the optimization of on-site operations. Furthermore, it also operates employment support services. By deploying a unique model that establishes support facilities within companies in addition to its own operated facilities, it provides benefits to both service users and companies, promoting social independence. HIRAC FUND decided to invest after evaluating that the company's unique model, which balances the centralization of headquarters functions and optimization of on-site operations through M&A, achieves both fundamental resolution of social issues and business sustainability. Going forward, leveraging the network of HIRAC FUND's LP regional financial institutions and business companies, as well as the expertise of the Money Forward Group, we will support the acceleration of the roll-up strategy and the enhancement of headquarters functions. In particular, through supporting expansion into regions with a shortage of providers or successors and assisting in designing medium- to long-term sustainable capital policies, we will strongly support the company's nationwide expansion. ※1 From the Welfare and Medical Service Agency (WAM) "2023 Survey on Securing Personnel for Disability Welfare Services, etc." (released March 29, 2024). 52.6% of disability welfare service providers responded that they are understaffed, a slight increase from the 2020 survey. ■About CI Partners <Representative Profile> President and CEO, Representative Director Norishi Kamisumi After graduating from the Faculty of International Studies at Utsunomiya University, he worked in sales at an apparel manufacturer. The discovery of his first child's severe hearing impairment in May 2009 led him to work for 3.5 years as a personnel manager responsible for employing people with disabilities at AKINDO SUSHIRO Co., Ltd. from September 2012, where he was involved in hiring and training approximately 200 people. Convinced that many disabilities stem from a social structure lacking adequate development environments, he founded CI Partners Inc. in November 2015. <Company Overview> Company Name: CI Partners Inc. Representative: President and CEO, Representative Director Norishi Kamisumi Business Description: Operation of support services for children with disabilities (Child Development Support / After-School Day Services) and employment support service facilities. Established: November 25, 2015 Head Office: Nagahori Osaka Building 5F, 4-10-3 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture URL: https://ci-partners.jp/ ■Comment on Receiving Investment from HIRAC FUND CI Partners Inc., President and CEO, Representative Director Norishi Kamisumi We sincerely thank you for understanding our business and deciding to invest. Meeting HIRAC FUND, we have received not only funding but also shared numerous hands-on supports such as connecting us with systems and partners, and our business advancement has already accelerated. We feel that approaches to areas we couldn't tackle before are progressing and we have been able to shift gears. In the disability welfare industry, while the number of facilities has increased due to private sector entry, the substance is still at a developmental stage, with a mountain of unresolved issues. Our company will tackle these issues head-on and work to realize "eliminating the word 'disabled person' from this country." ■HIRAC FUND Overview HIRAC FUND is a venture capital fund that primarily invests in seed and early-stage startups aiming to solve social issues through technology. Leveraging the strengths of the Money Forward Group—"experience in launching startups and IPOs," "expertise in Fintech/SaaS," "network/community with entrepreneurs," and "collaboration with regional financial institutions"—it conducts investment and support activities to contribute to the startup industry. <About Fund No. 2> Name: HIRAC FUND No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership Total Fund Amount: 9.08 billion yen Investment Targets: A wide range of domestic and international IT/technology companies, primarily at the seed and early stages. General Partner: Money Forward Venture Partners Inc. URL: https://hirac.co.jp/ ■About Money Forward Venture Partners Inc. Name: Money Forward Venture Partners Inc. (100% subsidiary of Money Forward Inc.) Location: msb Tamachi Station Tower S 21F, 3-1-21 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Representative: Naoya Kanasaka Business Description: Fund raising and management Established: May 25, 2020 *Please use the contact form on the page for inquiries. *All company names and product/service names (including logos) mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.