The SocialGood App, which gives users cryptocurrency rewards for shopping, has raised $14.2 million in Series A funding from a venture capital firm.
The SocialGood App (available on iOS and Android) is partnered with more than 1,800 major online stores, including AliExpress, eBay, Nike, and more. When users shop at partner sites through the app, they earn back up to 100% in SocialGood (SG) crypto.
The app’s user base, primarily in the United States, is growing exponentially worldwide, increasing by over 5x in three months to exceed 1.85 million users by the end of January 2022. This exponential growth is due to the network effect at work, as the history of Bitcoin has shown.
As SocialGood App users increase, the value of SG crypto increases, so the app’s value also increases as it provides SG. This attracts even more users, creating a positive cycle of growth. Social Good Foundation Inc. has registered 68 patents in Japan for this innovative Crypto Back business model.
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Survey data shows that there are 5 billion mobile users in the world, and 55% of them want rewards or cash back when they shop online. On the other hand, the 24-hour exchange volume in crypto exceeded $100 billion in February 2022. Therefore the business model of rewarding in crypto may seem obvious, but Social Good Foundation Inc. has proven its innovativeness with its 68 patents related to the Crypto Back business model. In addition, as the crypto market is said to be growing tenfold every two years, it can be anticipated that SocialGood App’s global market will grow to 550 million people in the next two years.
In 2018, the company’s founder and CEO, Soichiro Takaoka, established Social Good Foundation Inc. in Tokyo to meet the demands of this large and rapidly-growing market, and to create the cryptocurrency and mobile app with the most users in the world.
A Japanese serial entrepreneur, Takaoka has 23 years of experience in the fintech field. After graduating from Tokyo University, he began his career at Mitsui & Co., one of the most massive global enterprises based in Japan. He then left to start his own fintech company, which rose to become the most successful in its industry in Japan under his leadership, with over $1B total in investment advisory contracts. Takaoka has also authored two publications about finance.
Andrew Tantomo, the CTO of Social Good Foundation Inc., was previously a lead engineer in global app development at Rakuten, after graduating from the Singapore Institute of Management. Tantomo, who is fluent in English, Chinese, and Japanese, is a highly skilled, multilingual, full stack developer.
“Most people in the world do not have the means to gain assets; they keep just losing money from their daily expenses. I wanted to create a world where anyone and everyone could just automatically build up assets. Our goal is to democratize asset-holding,” shares Soichiro Takaoka, founder and CEO of Social Good Foundation Inc. “We believe that the SocialGood Ecosystem will make the world a better place, and we aim to expand it globally.”
The SocialGood Project’s stated mission is “to build the world’s largest global platform and to provide financial freedom to all people worldwide.” They also state that their “vision is to become the top cryptocurrency and global mobile app with the highest number of users.”
Highly-skilled and sincere individuals have come from global companies to join the SocialGood team with a shared passion to achieve this vision and mission. These include a former executive at Amazon Japan, a Goldman Sachs alumnus, a former marketing director at Mercari, a former media planner at P&G, an engineer who worked at Rakuten, a former data analyst at IBM, and more.
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Social Good Foundation Inc. supports the growth and personal fulfillment of each team member in a fair work environment where there is no discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age, leading to a highly diverse and international team.
As the SocialGood App aims to become the world’s largest platform, the app is already available in English, Chinese, and Hindi. The team plans to continue to add more localized versions, partner with more major companies worldwide, and make the app even more useful for all users.
In anticipation of this growth, Miyako Capital has invested $14.2 million in Social Good Foundation Inc. This is the largest equity finance investment ever to be raised by a crypto issuer headquartered in Japan*, and the very first funding for Social Good Foundation Inc.
Miyako Capital is a venture capital firm officially recognized by Kyoto University, a leading Japanese national university. In addition to their offices in Japan, Miyako Capital also holds an office located in Silicon Valley. They invest in and provide support for promising Japanese and international startups. With this investment, Social Good Foundation Inc. plans to further promote its global expansion.
“We are pleased to announce that we have invested in Social Good Foundation Inc., which aims to build an innovative and socially-conscious global platform utilizing the token ecosystem,” said Hiro Okahashi, Partner and Founder of Miyako Capital, in a statement. “The SocialGood App has already gained traction and significant transactions internationally. We expect that the SocialGood App will continue to show rapid, significant growth and gain even more widespread use around the world. We will continue to do our utmost to support them in industry-university collaboration for technology and human resources as well as overseas expansion.”
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