- Brother Supports Young Entrepreneurs Who Address Social Issues and Community Revitalization as a Business
- Brother Helps Disadvantaged Youth Find Employment in the Republic of South Africa
- Brother Organizes Environmental Event "Brother Earth Kids Academy"
- Brother Supports Economically Disadvantaged Rural Women in China
- Tackling the lack of digital infrastructure in rural areas of Benin (Africa)
Brother Supports Young Entrepreneurs Who Address Social Issues and Community Revitalization as a Business
Brother participates in the launch of Tokai Young Entrepreneur Seminar and provides continued support to entrepreneurs
Brother Industries, Ltd. (BIL) participated in the launch of the "Tokai Young Entrepreneur Seminar" to assist young social entrepreneurs who address social issues and community revitalization through their businesses in the Tokai area, where BIL's headquarters are located, and started cosponsoring the activity in 2008.
In the Seminar, Brother works to place businesses on a trajectory for growth, such as by supporting entrepreneurs to formulate business strategies and develop services. Over the 17 years up to FY2024, it had supported more than 70 entrepreneurs engaged in nursing care and welfare work, multicultural coexistence, the creation of learning spaces for children, childcare support, town development, and so forth.
Brother establishes a system in which employees can address social issues as pro bono workers*1
Every year since 2012, BIL employees have participated as "Pro Bono Workers" to support students at the Tokai Young Entrepreneur Seminar.
The employees involved in the Seminar as Pro Bono Workers allowed to spend a total of 50 working hours in six months on the activity. While using time outside of working hours as well, they teach these entrepreneurs how to formulate strategies to enhance the value of the services they provide, narrow down their targets, perform market studies, and develop sales plans.
Participation in the Seminar as Pro Bono Workers enables employees not only to provide support using the skills and experience they have gained in their own work but also to learn about entrepreneurship*2, which leads to increasing opportunities for employees to learn and grow further and promoting the resolution of social issues through business.
FY2024 Efforts
In FY2024, four people chosen through a careful selection process participated in the Seminar as the 17th class, and four employees from BIL took part as Pro Bono Workers. With support from Pro Bono Workers, the seminar students took part in various training sessions and other activities over a six-month period, which allowed them to refine and further concretize their business vision and strategy.
At the final presentation session held in March 2025, the students presented their plans and vision for future business development. Employees who participated as Pro Bono Workers made comments, such as "Supporting entrepreneurs has broadened my perspective."
In addition, in FY2024, we held a meeting called “Gathering Day” for the Tokai Young Entrepreneur Seminar alumni and employees who had participated as Pro Bono Workers with the aim of building an internal network of those with Pro Bono Worker experience and strengthening the community of entrepreneurs. At the Gathering Day, Seminar alumni shared the current status of their businesses and activities as well as challenges they face, and all participants discussed ways to address those challenges. In addition, the 17th class students presented their business visions, and the alumni provided feedback on the presentations, making the Day a meaningful opportunity for entrepreneurs to prepare for their next step.
BIL will continuously contribute to addressing social issues and revitalizing communities by cosponsoring the Seminar, which aims to support young entrepreneurs. In addition, through Pro Bono activities by employees, we will increase opportunities for employees to learn and grow further and to encourage the solving of social issues through business.
- An activity in which employees use their skills cultivated through their work in the company in supporting individual entrepreneurs.
- The attitude of creating a new business and taking risks.
Brother Helps Disadvantaged Youth Find Employment in the Republic of South Africa
Brother International S.A. (Pty) Ltd. (BI S.A.), Brother's sales facility in South Africa, promotes activities conducted in line with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) with the aim of contributing to economic growth and job creation in the country. B-BBEE is a national policy of strengthening the economic power of South Africans who have historically been unfairly discriminated against and disadvantaged. Under the policy, companies are scored by factor in their commitment and contribution to eliminating inequality and are rated according to their scores on a scale of Level 1, the highest, to Level 8 and "Non-compliance."
In FY2024, BI S.A. worked with TBL*1 and SEDA*2 to provide entrepreneurs with a program for training in the basic skills and knowledge necessary for starting up, maintaining, and expanding businesses, as well as skills in using practical tools. This program attracted about 80 participants. In addition, BI S.A. also provided women and young people with opportunities for capability development and employment.
The Brother Group will continuously contribute to resolution of social issues by improving the conditions of historically disadvantaged South Africans.
- Abbreviation for The Business Lab, an organization that supports entrepreneurs and assists small, medium-sized and large companies in achieving business growth with the aim of economic development in South Africa
- Abbreviation for the Small Enterprise Development Agency, an agency established by the South African government to support small and medium-sized enterprises
Brother Organizes Environmental Event "Brother Earth Kids Academy"
Providing learning opportunities for children attending after-school clubs
Brother Earth Kids Academy is an event that has been held since FY2018 for children attending after-school clubs during summer vacation, providing them with opportunities to learn about environmental issues through crafts. At the event, through the creation of an "endangered animals picture book," the program gives the children an opportunity to study the causes of the increase in endangered species and allows them to learn about the mechanism of global warming, which is one of the causes, and efforts to prevent it.
The "Brother Earth Kids Academy" activities comprise events held at the Brother Museum, a corporate museum of BIL, and on-site events at after-school clubs. Approximately 70 events were held between FY 2018 and FY 2025, with approximately 3,200 kids* participating.
- In FY2018 and FY2019, the event was held only at the Brother Museum. In FY2020 and FY2021, the event was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brother Earth Kids Academy in FY2025
In FY2025, a total of 8 sessions were held from July 23 to August 28, including 2 sessions at the Brother Museum and 6 on-site events at after-school clubs, with approximately 300 participants, including children and instructors. Due to the recent summer heat, there is a growing demand for on-site events at after-school clubs that can be attended without going outside.
In addition to creating an "endangered animals picture book," the event also included making name tags using Brother's ScanNCut,* making it an experiential program that not only taught participants about the global environment but also allowed them to demonstrate their creativity.
The kids who participated shared their impressions, saying, "Through this learning, I was able to think about the connection between global warming and endangered species" and "I want to encourage those around me to take part in activities that will help prevent global warming."
In recognition of these activities, BIL has received the Aichi Biodiversity Company Certification from Aichi Prefecture as a company that is making excellent efforts in biodiversity conservation.
BIL will continue to promote educational support activities for local communities and initiatives that contribute to global environmental conservation in order to realize a sustainable society.
- A product that allows you to cut paper, cloth, thin plastic sheets, stickers, etc. using a touch panel (without using scissors or a cutter).
Brother Supports Economically Disadvantaged Rural Women in China
Brother donates sewing machines to women in Yunnan Province
Brother (China) Ltd. (BCN), one of the Brother Group's sales facilities in China, has made its mission to "contribute to the development of Chinese society and the abundance of people's lives " and is engaged in initiatives to support economically disadvantaged women in Yunnan Province, China.
While China has achieved remarkable economic growth, there is a gap between urban and rural areas, with some women struggling to find employment in the southwesternmost province of Yunnan as well. Although women in Yunnan make a living such as by hand-sewing embroidery, which is a traditional culture of the province and is listed as one of China's intangible cultural heritages, they must migrate to work to earn a sufficient income and live apart from their families and children. These children left behind in rural areas as a result of their parents' migrations are known as "left-behind children," and they represent a social problem unique to China.
Therefore, from FY 2022 to FY 2024, BCN donated 36 sewing machines as well as the funding to provide training on how to use them. In addition, this has enabled them to continue working locally and live with their families and children, thereby improving the problem of left-behind children.
The Brother Group has identified six materialities to "contribute to society and help protect the earth" as Our Purpose in the Brother Group Vision "At your side 2030." BCN will work to solve social issues through business towards "supporting people's value creation," one of the six materialities.
Tackling the lack of digital infrastructure in rural areas of Benin (Africa)
The Brother Group is participating in a demonstration experiment conducted by Dots for Inc. (Dots for) to verify the effectiveness of a printing and copying usiness in rural areas of Benin (Africa). In this demonstration experiment, Brother’s inkjet All-in-Ones, known fortheir excellent durability, were used. In rural villages that have been left behind by the wave of digitalization, there are no places to print or copy within the villages, and residents sometimes have to travel tens of ilometers to a nearby town to print or copy. We are contributing to improving the quality of life for residents by providing printing and copying services that can be accessed via smartphone in multiple villages through Dots for’s new type of local service center, “Village Printing Service.”
