Mymizu 2022

Abstract

Mymizu is a social startup established by Robin Takashi Lewis and Mariko McTier, two social entrepreneurs, in 2019 in Japan. Established under the umbrella of Social Innovation Japan (SIJ), mymizu serves as a platform to drive social good and change by fostering a community of changemakers and raising awareness about real-world issues to spark conversations and actions. Applying social innovation at the intersection of creativity, technology, and society, mymizu became the first water refill app and platform in Japan that encourages people to forego the usage of PET bottles. Its business model relies on educating people for behavioral change and responsible consumption through its social movement of raising awareness and initiating actions, while generating revenues through partnerships, consulting and educational services for organizations and local governments, awards and grants, striking a balance between financial sustainability and social mission.The case A follows the development of Robin and his career shift towards social entrepreneurship, then focuses on mymizu since the app was launched in September 2019, while portraying some of the key environmental issues related to plastic and how circular economy is brought forward as a solution for the systemic issues plaguing the planet. Through the dilemma in moving forward on how to scale the social impact, participants will be introduced to 3 different options that would be analyzed in depth for making a recommendation of the solution that mymizu should pursue: Going viral through storytelling built on existing and new partnerships? Making an open-sourced web app platform to leverage the community? Or going global through a licensing strategy? The case B provides closure on the dilemma with the option that mymizu took to move forward and how it actually implemented it.

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