- The following is content from the press release -
(Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasuyuki Toki; hereafter "Unifa"), a company that uses technology to solve social issues related to childcare and child rearing, today, February 1, 2023*, began offering "Lukumi," a comprehensive ICT service for childcare facilities. (hereinafter referred to as "Unifa") will start offering two new fee plans, "Standard Plan" and "Customized Plan," to further support the implementation of ICT services tailored to the needs of childcare facilities nationwide.
Standard Plan will be available from March 1, 2023.
1. About "Standard Plan" and "Customized Plan
Background of the launch
On January 12, 2023, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced a new policy to completely free childcare fees for the second child without setting an income limit, effective October 1 of the same year, in order to further realize a "Children First "*1 society that supports children and child rearing based on the basic idea that "children are the main character. While local governments and governments across Japan are considering and implementing various measures to address the declining birthrate, the number of children using childcare facilities is also on the rise due to the rise in the number of dual-earner households*2. The need for childcare facilities is on the rise, while the shortage of childcare workers, mainly due to long working hours and high workloads, continues to be a social issue.
Part of the reason why the introduction of ICT in childcare facilities has not progressed is that there are so many functions that are difficult to master, and there is uncertainty as to where to start. To address this issue, we have launched the "Standard Plan" and "Customized Plan," which allow users to choose the steps for introducing ICT to their childcare facilities at their own pace. We will continue to aim for the creation of "mind" and "time" leeway by converting a part of childcare operations from cumbersome handwritten work to ICT.
*Exhibit 1: "Toward a Society Supportive of Children and Childrearing" (Cabinet Office)
Exhibit 2: "Summary of Situation Related to Childcare Centers, etc." (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
Overview and Features
Standard Plan
Usage FeeMonthly fee: 27,000 yen (tax not included)
5,000 yen (tax not included) off the monthly fee when applying the "Lukmi-Photo Utilization Discount*1". When the Lukmi-Photo discount is applied, the monthly fee equivalent to 52,000 yen (tax not included) can be used for less than half the monthly fee of 22,000 yen (tax not included)*2.
Services included:Total 12 services
Lukumi Class Board, Lukumi Preschool Memory, Lukumi Contact Book, Lukumi Otter, Lukumi Photo, Lukumi Documentation, Lukumi Form Management, Lukumi Arrival/Departure, Lukumi Billing Management, Lukumi Preschool Mall, Lukumi Shift Management, Lukumi Bus Location Information
Other ancillary services:Application for teachers (Lukumi Notebook), application for parents, management of information on children, parents, and the facility, one tablet for school arrival and departure, customized pack for forms, data security pack, support for accompanying ICT utilization
Other services can be added as options (extra charge)
Usage images and features:Recommended for those who have never introduced ICT before, those who have not been able to utilize ICT well, and those who want to introduce ICT at a more economical price than usual. By using the accompanying dedicated program "Accompanying ICT utilization support "*3, Unifa's staff will provide continuous support from pre-introduction to post-introduction. For more details, please refer to the following [URL].
Customized Plan
Usage fees:5,000 yen per month (tax not included)
Like the Standard Plan, the monthly fee is reduced by 5,000 yen (tax not included) when applying the Lucmi-Photo Utilization Discount*1.
Services included:Total 6 services
Lukumi Class Board, Lukumi Preschool Memory, Lukumi Contact Book, Lukumi Letter, Lukumi Photo, Lukumi Documentation
Other ancillary services:App for teachers (Lukumi Notebook), app for parents, management of information on children, parents, and facilities
Other services can be added as options (extra charge)
Usage image and characteristics:Recommended for those who have a concrete image of the application of ICT, such as a certain number of products to be combined with the specific business content to be converted to ICT.
[Details URL].https://lookmee.jp/plan/
*1: Applies to photo sales at Lukmie Photo at least three times a year. For more details, please see below.
https://lookmee.jp/photo-ouen/
2: Customized plan costs 52,000 yen/month (tax not included), but with the Standard Plan + Lukmi-Photo discount, the monthly fee is less than half (22,000 yen/month, tax not included).
*3: Hearing long-term planning and follow-up support by a person in charge who is familiar with the functions according to the functions used. For details, please refer to the above [detailed URL].
2. About Unifa Corporation
Unifa is a startup in the Childcare-Tech domain that aims to solve social issues related to childcare and childcare. With the company's mission statement "to create an innovative social infrastructure that creates happiness for families around the world," Unifa develops and provides "Lukumi," a comprehensive service for childcare facilities that utilizes IoT and AI. Currently, about 60 local governments have introduced the service, and the number of users of the Lukumi series services is about 15,000. (*Number of facilities using the service is not the number of installed facilities). Through the development of Smart Nursery School®, Smart Kindergarten®, and Smart Childcare Center®*, we are contributing to the creation of an affluent society in which it is easy to work while raising children. Smart Nursery School" received the Good Design Best 100 Award in 2021 and a special Good Focus Award for "New Business Design," while "Lukumi" received the Advanced Technology Award in the social industry-specific ASP and SaaS category of the ASPIC IoT, AI and Cloud Award 2021, which is given to cloud services that are beneficial to society. In addition, Lukumi received the Advanced Technology Award in the social industry-specific ASP and SaaS category of the ASPIC IoT, AI, and Cloud Award 2021, which is given to cloud services beneficial to society. In addition, the company was selected as the first champion of the Startup World Cup in 2017 and as a J-Startup company in 2021. In addition, as of January 2023, the company is the lead organizer of the Impact Startup Association.
*Smart Nursery School®, Smart Kindergarten®, and Smart Children's School® are registered trademarks of Unifa.
Company Profile
Company name: Unifa Corporation
Representative Director & CEO: Yasuyuki Toki
Established: 2013
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Chiyoda Fujimi Building 2F, 1-8-19 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Business Overview: Planning, development, sales, and operation of the "Rukumi" series of childcare support services. Development and promotion of "Smart Nursery School, Smart Kindergarten, and Smart Childcare Center".
Company URL:https://unifa-e.com/
