Social Mover, which solves the shortage of human resources in the nursing care industry through sharing economy with professional drivers, announced on the 27th additional fundraising from Shinonome Capital and Shinkin Capital in its pre-Series A round. The funding amount was not disclosed. This is an additional investment to the round conducted in January this year, in which 50 million yen was raised with 1982 Impact Fund as the lead investor.
Japan’s nursing care industry is facing a worsening chronic shortage of human resources. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s estimate, about 570,000 nursing care personnel are expected to be short by 2040. Especially in day care services, transportation operations account for about 30% of all working hours, creating a challenge where facility staff cannot concentrate on their core duties.
On the other hand, professional drivers such as care taxi operators face another problem: their income is unstable due to one-time requests like hospital admissions and discharges, and they remain individual business owners. Social Mover launched the Care Drive business to solve these two challenges from a “sharing economy” perspective.
This business is currently being introduced in Gunma Prefecture, and as of January 2025, 16 taxis are operating between 15 nursing care facilities and 8 care taxi businesses, meeting the needs of nursing care facilities, care taxi operators, and the elderly who actually use the transportation services.
The raised funds will be used intensively in three areas: establishing the Care Drive business, regional expansion, and building a sustainable growth foundation.
via PR TIMES
#Social #Mover #tackling #day #service #transportation #challenges #conducts #additional #fundraising #preSeries #BRIDGE
