What SMES CHIKARA does

SMES CHIKARA is a Tokyo-based private company established on June 4, 2021, that operates the 'Nippon SMES Project' (中小企業からニッポンを元気にプロジェクト), a subscription-based support program for Japanese small and medium enterprises. The company aggregates branding, marketing, and sales support into a single membership offering, leveraging a curated portfolio of 10+ celebrity and character ambassadors — including TV personalities such as Tamura Jun, Wentz Eiji, Maeda Atsuko, Nagasaku Hiromi, and character IP like Gachapin & Mukku — that participating SMEs would otherwise be unable to access individually due to cost and relationship barriers.

The core product combines three service pillars: branding (ambassador-led promotional materials, recruitment materials, and PR support), marketing (dedicated web marketing teams assigned per participating company), and sales (a proprietary 100,000-company corporate database used for B2B matching and sales introductions). The platform extends into complementary media properties — TALKAST (a talent subscription knowledge media), プロモーションのチカラ (a case study media site), and SmaPro Matching (a marketing vendor matching platform) — creating a multi-product ecosystem. Distribution occurs via direct sales through website contact forms, sustained exhibition at Japan Marketing Week events, an ambassador-driven referral network, and the annual Japan SMES Awards (日本中小企業大賞).

Revenue is generated through annual subscription contracts with 1-year terms and quote-based pricing, supplemented by ancillary promotional services. As of July 2025, the project has supported 1,022+ cumulative participating companies, with participating company employees totaling 108,386 as of January 2024 and media coverage reaching 2,181 placements by December 2024. The company operates primarily in the Kanto region of Japan, with a regional expansion initiative launched in October 2023 in partnership with Shinkousha. SMES CHIKARA is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding and is led by Representative Director Yamashita Keisuke.

Name

SMES CHIKARA

Legal name

株式会社中小企業のチカラ

Website

https://nippon-smes-project.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SMES CHIKARA (中小企業のチカラ) operates the Nippon SMES Project, a Tokyo-based subscription service that bundles celebrity-ambassador branding, web marketing, and corporate database sales matching to support Japanese small and medium enterprises across the Kanto region and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Marketing & Branding Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)

Keywords

• SME support services
• Talent ambassador marketing
• B2B sales matching
• Corporate branding services
• Web marketing agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SME Support Project Membership: The company generates revenue through a subscription-based service model where SMEs pay to participate in the 中小企業からニッポンを元気にプロジェクト. The service is priced annually per 期 (term) and provides access to ambassador branding, marketing support, business matching, and community benefits.
2. Promotional Services: Revenue generated from providing promotional services including ambassador talent portrait usage for advertising, website creation, catalogs, banners, and other marketing materials for participating companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SMES CHIKARA runs the Nippon SMES Project, a membership program for Japanese small and medium enterprises. It delivers three core services: (1) BRANDING, which leverages official celebrity and character ambassador portraits for corporate, service, recruitment, and advertising materials; (2) MARKETING, in which a dedicated web marketing team supports strategy and optimization; and (3) SALES, which uses a proprietary database of 100,000 Japanese companies to introduce target prospects and provide sales support.

Product overview

SMES CHIKARA operates a unified platform service centered on the '中小企業からニッポンを元気にプロジェクト' (Nippon SMES Project), which provides comprehensive SME support through celebrity ambassador branding strategies, dedicated WEB marketing team support, and business matching services. The company also maintains complementary sub-brands including TALKAST (a talent subscription knowledge media), プロモーションのチカラ (case study media), and スマプロマッチング (marketing matching platform), creating an ecosystem of services designed to help small and medium enterprises enhance their branding, marketing, and sales capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 日本中小企業大賞 (Japan SMES Awards): Annual award event recognizing outstanding SMEs and their employees
• TALKAST
• プロモochikara.com

Products and services

• Nippon SMES Project (中小企業からニッポンを元気にプロジェクト) Core membership-based SME support service delivering three pillars to Japanese SMEs: branding using official celebrity and character ambassador portraits (for service differentiation, recruitment branding, sales materials, and advertising), web marketing team support (strategy through optimization), and sales support via a 100,000-company database plus dedicated sales assistance. Each participating company is assigned a dedicated planner.
• TALKAST
• Promotion no Chikara (プロモーションのチカラ) Media site featuring case studies and interviews with companies that have participated in the Nippon SMES Project, providing practical insights into the service's effectiveness.
• SmaPro Matching (スマプロマッチング) Marketing matching platform that connects companies with marketing challenges to web marketing companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,022+ companies supported as of July 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• 新広社 (Shinkousha)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Strategic business partnership initiated in October 2023 to launch the '地方からニッポンを元気にプロジェクト' (Local Regions Revitalization Project). This partnership expanded the company's reach to support local SME revitalization efforts across Japan, strengthening the network of regional enterprise support.
• 東京都工商行政会 (Tokyo Metropolitan Administrative Clerk Association)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerThe project operates with endorsement (後援) from the Tokyo Metropolitan Administrative Clerk Association, providing credibility and institutional support for the SME revitalization initiative.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Infomart: Infomart operates B2B platform services connecting SMEs with suppliers and business partners in Japan, comparable to SMES CHIKARA's database-driven business matching offering for participating companies.
• Sansan: Sansan operates a B2B contact database and matching platform (Eight, Bill One) comparable to SMES CHIKARA's 100,000-company corporate database and SmaPro Matching platform used for business introductions.

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo: Major Japanese advertising agency offering integrated branding, creative, and digital marketing services; an incumbent competitor with deeper client relationships but a broader, less SME-focused positioning.
• CyberAgent: CyberAgent operates large digital advertising and internet media businesses in Japan, including AbemaTV and programmatic ad platforms, overlapping with SMES CHIKARA's web marketing and digital promotion offerings.
• Dentsu: Japan's largest advertising agency group, providing a broad portfolio of branding, marketing, and media services to enterprises, including SMEs, with far larger scale and broader channel reach than SMES CHIKARA.

Others

• Yayoi: Yayoi provides accounting software and SME back-office services in Japan with a similar SME-customer base, serving as an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct marketing services competitor.
• GMO Pepabo: GMO Pepabo provides web hosting, ecommerce, and creative services to Japanese SMEs, overlapping with SMES CHIKARA's website creation and digital marketing support for SME customers.

Emerging players

• CCMC: CCMC specializes in character IP marketing and licensing for businesses, the closest peer to SMES CHIKARA's celebrity/character ambassador model that monetizes IP rights for promotional use by participating companies.
• freee: freee provides cloud-based accounting, HR, and SaaS services targeted at Japanese SMEs, sharing SMES CHIKARA's SME customer focus but operating in financial software rather than marketing and branding.
• Money Forward: Money Forward offers business and personal finance SaaS targeted at Japanese SMEs, comparable in target segment and subscription model to SMES CHIKARA, though focused on financial back-office rather than marketing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nippon.smes.project

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about SMES CHIKARA