A-Five

What A-Five does

A-FIVE (株式会社農林漁業成長産業化支援機構, Agriculture, forestry and fisheries Fund corporation for Innovation, Value-chain and Expansion Japan) was a Japanese government-backed investment fund corporation established in January 2013 under the Act on Corporation for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Growth Industry Support (Act No. 83 of 2012). Its mandate was to provide capital investment and advisory support to businesses in Japan's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors in order to promote growth and industrialization of those industries. The entity functioned as a public-private fund-of-funds vehicle, channeling government capital into sub-funds alongside strategic private-sector shareholders.

At incorporation, A-FIVE assembled 319 billion yen in total capital contributions, of which 30,000 million yen came from the Government of Japan via the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program (Industrial Investment expenditure) and 1,902 million yen came from eleven private-sector shareholders, including major Japanese food manufacturers (Kagome, House Foods Group, Ajinomoto, Kikkoman, Kewpie, Nisshin Seifun), financial institutions (Norinchukin Bank, Shoko Chukin Bank, Nomura Holdings, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance), and Toyota Motor Corporation. The organization operated with a small staff (1–10 employees) from its headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward and did not develop technology products, pricing models, or go-to-market channels in the conventional commercial sense.

Following an extraordinary shareholders' meeting resolution effective March 2026, A-FIVE was dissolved and entered liquidation, with Managing Director Yabana Satomi redesignated as Representative Liquidator and Masahiro Sumida serving as Liquidator. As of the source data, the entity performs only liquidation activities and no longer accepts new investment consultations, making it a closed, non-operating corporation.

Name

A-Five

Legal name

株式会社農林漁業成長産業化支援機構

Website

https://a-five-j.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

A-FIVE was a Japanese government-backed investment fund corporation established in January 2013 to provide capital and advisory support for growth and industrialization of Japan's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors; dissolved in March 2026 and currently in liquidation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government-backed investment fund

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAAALAG

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Asset Management — ESG/Sustainable & Impact Investing

Keywords

• Agricultural investment fund
• Fisheries growth capital
• Government-backed financing
• Value chain investment
• Rural industrialization support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

A-Five was a Japanese government-backed investment fund corporation that provided equity investment, subordinated loans, and advisory support to operators in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. It mobilized up to 319 billion yen in capital, sourced primarily from the Japanese government's Special Account for Fiscal Investment and Loans and supplemented by 11 private-sector partner companies from the food, financial, and automotive industries, to promote value-chain integration and industrialization of Japan's primary sectors. The corporation was established under Act No. 83 of 2012 in January 2013 and was dissolved in March 2026.

Product overview

A-FIVE was a Japanese government-supported investment fund organization (established January 2013) designed to support the growth and industrialization of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors. The organization did not offer technology products or services in the traditional SaaS sense; rather, it provided investment and financing support to target businesses, as well as advisory services to operators conducting or intending to conduct target business activities, as defined under the Act on Arrangement of Distribution and Fair Trade of Food and Other Products, the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Act, and the Act on the Corporation for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Growth Industrialization Support. The organization had 319 billion yen in contributed capital with government and private sector shareholders, and has been dissolved as of March 2026 (令和8年3月), currently undergoing liquidation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Equity Investment in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Businesses Equity capital investments into Japanese agriculture, forestry, and fisheries operators and their value-chain partners, designed to support business growth, industrialization, and value-chain integration. Targeted at growth-stage primary-sector businesses and their corporate partners.
• Subordinated Loan Investment Subordinated debt financing provided to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries businesses, complementing equity investments to support capital structures of growth-stage primary-sector operators.
• Advisory and Business Support Services Advisory and hands-on support services provided to investee companies in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries to help them industrialize operations, integrate value chains, and scale their businesses.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Cool Japan Fund: Japanese government-backed public-private investment fund created to support Japanese content and creative industries. Shares A-FIVE's public-private investment fund structure, statutory establishment, and government-dominated capital base.
• Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ): Japanese public-private investment fund established by government and major corporates to support technology and industry innovation. Closest structural analogue to A-FIVE in terms of public-private LP composition, statutory basis, and sector-industrialization mandate.
• Norinchukin Bank: Japan's primary cooperative financial institution for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. As a 300M yen A-FIVE shareholder and the dominant capital provider to the same sectors A-FIVE targeted, it is the most directly comparable institution in Japanese agri-finance.

Broad incumbents

• Development Bank of Japan (DBJ): Japanese government-backed policy investment bank providing long-term capital and advisory to strategic industries. Comparable to A-FIVE as a state-affiliated investor with a sector-development mandate, though operating at far larger scale and across all industrial sectors.
• Japan Finance Corporation (JFC): Japanese government policy-based financial institution providing financing to SMEs, agriculture/forestry/fisheries, and other underserved segments. Comparable as a state-affiliated provider of capital to the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors A-FIVE targeted.
• Japan Investment Corporation (JIC): Japanese government-backed investment holding entity overseeing growth and innovation capital activities. Comparable to A-FIVE as a state-aligned investment platform structured to channel public capital into industry development.

Emerging players

• AgFunder: Global venture capital firm focused on agriculture and food technology. Comparable to A-FIVE as a sector-specialized investor channeling capital into the industrialization and modernization of primary industries, but operating as a private VC rather than a public fund.
• Seventure Partners: European VC with a dedicated Agri/Food-tech investment fund. Comparable to A-FIVE in its focus on equity investment into agriculture and food value-chain modernization, though operating privately and primarily in Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about A-Five