5 min Novakid supports a young Japanese entrepreneur to promote her sustainability project across the globe
Aima Hosoi is probably one of the youngest Japanese entrepreneurs. She is only 11 years old and is a student at an elementary school in Tokyo.
When she was 10, she was impressed to see a bag that had been made out of snack packets which people would usually throw away. This got her interested in upcycling – giving “a second chance” to old things or rubbish which seem absolutely from the first sight.
Aima furthered her interest in upcycling through activities at school and participated in events such as Earth Day in the Japanese capital and litter-picking in her free time.
”Compared to ‘recycling’, which is about reusing items as they are, I found the concept of ’upcycling’ more interesting — working with items to change them into something valuable. Plus, it’s more environmentally friendly, which motivated me a lot,” said Aima.
Aima started by creating various items from waste products. She has gradually expanded her activities and has designed several workshop projects to boost environmental education.
“All you need is the desire to know and the courage to act”
In March 2022, Aima and her mother, Ayako Hosoi, launched Moco Earth Co., Ltd. The company is run by Aima and focuses on several activities including environmental workshops, ‘upcycling’ events that are open to the public, ‘organic’ tours as well as content production and distribution to raise awareness about sustainable waste management.
“My company helps parents and children become aware of global problems and take action. Children learn about how to solve the hidden problems we experience through shedding light on them and letting them find out for themselves. We provide learning through experiences. All you need is the desire to know and the courage to act. If one day my company becomes profitable, it will mean that I have made a small contribution to the planet,” said the young entrepreneur.
Aima leads a group of creators who are part of the sustainable movement in Japan. Her Instagram page – moco.earth – is a place to share ideas, get inspired and join this conscious young community striving to make the world a better place.
Apart from being a president of Moco Earth Co., Ltd., Aima is a member of the Earth Day Tokyo 2022 Executive Committee.
A year of free online English lessons to support sustainable business
Novakid was so impressed with Aima’s business and her dedication to creating awareness of an important issue. As such, Aima has been given a year’s worth of free online English lessons to support her dreams of changing the world through ‘upcycling’.
”Every child has the wonderful ability to dream without limits. Whether it’s becoming a popular YouTuber, going into space or visiting Disneyland, every childhood dream entails a unique approach to its realization. But every dream has a common element: no matter how audacious a child’s dream may be, English will always be useful in making it happen,’” commented Novakid’s CEO Max Azarov.
Aima shared her Novakid experience: ”At first I was nervous – what if I didn’t understand anything? But thanks to the teacher, I enjoyed it so much and the lessons went by so fast. When I didn’t understand a word, the teacher explained it slowly, over and over again, which helped me understand it better. I hope to improve my English language skills through Novakid’s lessons to be able to share my thoughts and opinions with others in my own words. I want to continue this effort so that more people know about the activities I do!”,
“Shifting from the age of things to the era of mind”
In June, Aima announced a new sustainable project – “Happy Earth: Let’s Talk About the Earth” with the slogan Shifting from the age of things to the era of mind.
Her goal is to make a real impact in reaching some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) established by the United Nations in 2015.
By organizing workshops for children on creating sustainable denim bangles, Aima hopes that they will be more aware of the problems on Earth so that they feel inspired to help find solutions.
”The world is overflowing with things. It has become more convenient to buy things with a click of a mouse, but no one seems to pay attention to the problems that lie behind the scenes. Some people may think that environmental and social issues exist in a distant world unrelated to them. But these problems are happening in your home as well as mine – on Earth. My dream is to connect ‘upcycling’ with creators in order to reduce garbage and create a place where you can live and work in your own way regardless of age, gender, country or time,” explained Aima.
Aima has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Campfire. Since mid-June, she has managed to raise more than half of the target amount of funding she is aiming to generate for the project!
If you have the means, please support Aima, a brave, talented and conscious young Japanese entrepreneur. Find out more about her project and donate here.
