Cogo

Problem

Cogo is a carbon footprint management product that helps individuals and businesses to measure, understand, and reduce their impact on the climate.

For their Japan market entry, Cogo were looking to understand the how the financial services landscape is distinct from places like New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom where they’d already delivered their solutions successfully.

Japan has a series of challenges for fintechs to navigate – from slow moving financial institutions to fragmented payment methods, trust and privacy expectations, shifts in sustainability consciousness, and a rapidly ageing population.

Cogo were looking for a partner to increase their understanding of both how to influence Japanese banks, and the extent to which customers are ready for carbon tracking in their financial apps.

Outcomes

The study found there is an unmet need for sustainable products in the financial services industry, with a rise in conscious behaviours, and a high desirability for tools like carbon footprinting.

Cogo were able to use the insights from the study to adapt their strategy for Japan, with insights around the complexity of the payment landscape informing a change in the banks and fintechs they were targeting.

When engaging with a prototype of the Cogo user experience a large cohort of people shifted from neutral to positive in their responses, with nearly 40% of participants wanting the feature in their financial apps. Significantly for the Cogo business case, 41% expect their banks to do more to reduce their climate and environmental impact.