Maneo

What Maneo does

Maneo (マネオ) is Japan's first social lending (peer-to-peer) platform, founded in 2008 and operated through parent company maneo Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary maneo Market Inc., which holds Type II Financial Instruments Business registration with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. The platform operates as an online marketplace matching individual retail lenders with Japanese small and medium enterprises seeking business financing, offering loan funds with stated IRRs of approximately 6.8% to 9.9% and minimum investments of ¥40,000. As of the most recent platform disclosure, cumulative loan volume totals ¥164.2 billion across 14,521 cases with 85,773 registered users, while the active homepage currently lists zero open loan funds and a material cumulative credit-loss overhang of ¥2.95B in delinquent and ¥2.75B in defaulted balances remains on the books.

The business monetizes primarily through transaction-based fees on facilitated loans, supplemented by affiliate/referral revenue from Bizio (ビジオ), a separately operated B2B SaaS comparison and review site covering HR, sales, marketing, and IT software. Distribution occurs through the maneo.jp direct website, a partnership with GMO Click Securities that surfaces selected loan funds to its existing securities-investor base, and organic SEO content via Bizio. Maneo also maintains a sub-brand, Gaia Funding (ガイアファンディング), for additional product segmentation. The company has 11-50 employees and is headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, with an additional registered address in Shinagawa-ku.

The company's regulatory footprint, including both Type II Financial Instruments Business and Lending Business registrations, has anchored its market position since 2008, but recent operational signals — zero active loan funds at the time of capture, heavy reliance on two repeat borrowers (FU社 and maneo International社), material cumulative delinquencies and defaults, and the absence of any disclosed funding round since April 2017 — indicate that the underlying lending business is under material stress. The Bizio content business represents a modest diversification effort, but no evidence of meaningful scale or AI-driven underwriting is present in the available data.

Name

Maneo

Legal name

maneo株式会社

Website

https://maneo.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maneo (マネオ) is Japan's first social lending platform, founded in 2008, operating a P2P marketplace that matches individual lenders with Japanese SMEs seeking business financing. It earns transaction fees on facilitated loans and runs Bizio, a SaaS comparison site for ancillary affiliate revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

P2P Lending Marketplace

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

P2P Small Business / SME Marketplace Lending (FSAKAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

SME Term Loans & Growth Capital (FSAKAGAB)

Keywords

• Social lending
• P2P lending
• SME financing
• Loan marketplace
• Investment platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Loan facilitation fees: Maneo acts as an intermediary between lenders and borrowers, earning revenue from facilitating loans on its platform. The platform enables investors to fund loan funds that support SMEs, with borrowers paying interest rates ranging from approximately 6.8% to 9.9% IRR.
2. SaaS/Comparison platform services: Maneo also operates Bizio (ビジオ), a comparison and review platform for business software and services (HR, sales, marketing, IT, etc.), which likely generates affiliate/referral revenue from recommending third-party SaaS products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Maneo operates Japan's first social lending (P2P lending) marketplace, connecting individual lenders with Japanese SMEs that need business financing. Investors fund loan funds that pay interest at IRRs of approximately 6.8% to 9.9%, while SMEs obtain working capital and growth financing outside traditional banking channels. The company also runs Bizio, a SaaS and business software comparison service that recommends third-party tools across HR, sales, marketing, finance, and IT categories.

Product overview

Maneo's core business is its social lending platform (maneo ソーシャルレンディング), which operates as a P2P lending marketplace connecting lenders with business borrowers. The company also operates Bizio (ビジオ), a separate SaaS comparison service that recommends third-party business software solutions. These represent two distinct business lines: the core financial services platform and a content/affiliate-based software recommendation service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• maneo Social Lending Platform (ソーシャルレンディング) Japan's first P2P social lending marketplace that connects individual investors (lenders) with Japanese SMEs through an online platform, enabling investors to earn interest income through loan funds (IRRs of approximately 6.8% to 9.9%) and providing SMEs with access to alternative business financing outside traditional banks.
• Bizio (ビジオ) A B2B SaaS and business software comparison and recommendation platform that aggregates and reviews software tools across categories including HR, sales, marketing, finance, and IT, generating affiliate referral revenue from third-party SaaS providers.
• Gaia Funding (ガイアファンディング) Sub-brand loan fund platform of maneo offering additional social lending investment products to investors through a dedicated landing site.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GMOクリック証券 (GMO Click Securities)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGMO Click Securities offers select maneo loan funds as investment products through its securities trading platform. Investors need a GMO Click Securities account to invest in these designated funds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Boxil (by Smartcamp): Japanese B2B SaaS comparison and lead-generation platform — directly comparable to maneo's Bizio in business model and target customer (SMBs researching HR, sales, marketing, IT software).
• ITreview (by ITreview Inc.): B2B SaaS comparison and review platform in Japan — directly comparable to maneo's Bizio sub-brand in product, business model (affiliate/review-driven), and target audience (Japanese SMBs evaluating software).
• OwnersBook (オーナーズブック): FSA-registered crowdfunding platform focused on real estate-backed loans, operating under the same Type II Financial Instruments Business framework as maneo and serving the same individual-investor-to-borrower use case.
• J.Funding (J.レンディング / Japan Investment): Japan Investment Co.'s social lending product offering individual investors exposure to corporate loan funds, a near-identical marketplace model to maneo.
• Balance (バランス): FSA-registered Japanese crowdfunding platform for real-estate and SME loan funds, competing head-on with maneo for retail lenders seeking alternative fixed-income products.
• SBI FinTech Solutions (SBIソーシャルレンディング): Operates one of Japan's largest FSA-registered social lending platforms under SBI Group, directly competing with maneo for retail lenders and SME borrowers with the same Type II Financial Instruments Business model.
• Crowd Bank (クラウドバンク): Japan-based P2P/social lending marketplace operated by Crowdcredit Inc., offering individual investors exposure to yen-denominated SME and renewable-energy loans — directly comparable marketplace product to maneo.
• Crowd Credit (クラウドクレジット): Japanese P2P platform specializing in cross-border emerging-markets consumer/SME loans, registered with the FSA and competing for the same retail investor capital as maneo.
• LC Lending (LCレンディング): Affiliate-marketing-driven P2P lending service within LC Holdings, offering individual investors yen-denominated loan funds — a directly comparable marketplace lending business in Japan.

Emerging players

• Funding Edge (資金調達DX / Yokabo): Japanese online invoice/factor and short-term SME financing platform that competes for the same SME-borrower segment maneo serves, though through receivables purchase rather than P2P.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sociallendingJP
• Facebookfacebook.com/maneo-

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors9 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Maneo