Rina Akimoto

CEO, vivid garden Inc.

Japan

Winning women Asia-Pacific Rina Akimotoi

Rina Akimoto is the CEO of vivid garden Inc., an online marketplace where farmers can sell their produce directly to individuals and restaurants.

Since its launch in 2016, vivid garden’s registered producers has exceeded 650, and the individual users and restaurants has increased steadily.

Rina’s idea for business came to her after a visit to her parents' farm. She decided to work on the idle farmland they owned and quickly realized the issues farmers faced in the agriculture sector. In order to help them, she utilized her marketing skills and started vivid garden in 2016. She has been actively running the company since then, using e-commerce to create a more direct route between buyers and agricultural producers.

Rina holds a degree in Science and Technology from Keiko University, Japan. After which, she joined DeNA Co., Ltd., where she served as the web services director, sales team leader and marketing producer for smartphone apps. Rina was listed on 30 Under 30 Japan 2019, which is sponsored by Forbes Japan.

“We aim to grow in a way that the agricultural producers registered with us will be able to earn better and more sustainable incomes,” Rina said.