How Stayway Is Using Subsidy DX to Accelerate SMB Growth

Stayway CEO Jun Sato explains how Subsidy Cloud breaks down the three barriers blocking SMBs from government grants, and Panasonic’s Kana Mizukami shares the results after rolling it out.

• Japan’s total corporate subsidy pool runs into the trillions of yen, yet roughly 65% of SMBs have never received a single grant
• Three barriers block applicants — information, process, and cash: over 9,000 subsidy programs exist, and the average application takes 40 hours
• With five inputs, generative AI produces a “70-point” draft application in about one minute; adoption rates run 1.6× the national average
• Because subsidy funds can take up to 18 months to arrive, Stayway plans to launch a bridge-financing fund in H1 2026
• The platform connects with 70 financial institutions nationwide, and government incentives that push banks to support subsidy applications also count as a scoring bonus in subsidy reviews
• Panasonic adopted Subsidy Cloud for Sales in May 2025 for commercial air-conditioning proposals, turning a previous competitive weakness in subsidy consulting into a sales advantage
• Medium-term target: support 3.5 million mid-market, SMB, and startup companies through three pillars — municipal DX, expansion to all 47 prefectures, and the bridge fund

2026-04-12 · Watch on YouTube

Japanese page: 補助金DXで中小企業の成長を加速するStayway