Kansai Mirai Bank, an Osaka-based subsidiary of Resona Holdings, announced that it made its first investment from its new 500 million yen startup support fund, investing in newmo, a ride-sharing company. newmo began full-scale taxi operations in Osaka in March.

The fund invests in promising new companies in the region—as well as winners of the bank's pitch contest—with plans to invest an average of 30 million yen in 15 to 16 companies. In June, Kansai Mirai Bank also introduced a 1 billion yen fund for lending to startups.

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