It begins with a seed.
In 1983, we saw a glaring gap in the Japanese financial market.
Back then, credit cards were only issued by banks,
and only available to high-income customers.
At a time when societal norms kept most Japanese women out of the workforce,
we dared to centre a segment no one else dared to serve.
Credit Saison was the first company in Japan to
focus on women as their core customers.
Venturing into this space was a risk as we chose to do what no
other company in Japan was doing back then.
Soon enough, 75% of our cardholders were women.
Beyond the numbers, something bigger took root.
For the first time, an entire generation of women
was empowered to make their own financial decisions—for
themselves and their families.
In the years that followed, other institutions
expanded eligibility too.
The system started to shift.
For us, this was about opening doors and
recognising the overlooked.
That seed of access, of agency, of inclusion has
shaped everything we’ve done since.
01
winter
WHY THIS MOMENT MATTERS
02
SPRING
EMERGING WITH NEW BEGINNINGS
03
SUMMER
CULTIVATING THE CONDITIONS FOR CHANGE
04
AUTUMN
HARVESTING MEANINGFUL impact
05
A NEW
SEASON
imagining TOGETHER FOR A NEW season
01 WINTER
WHY THIS
MOMENT MATTERS
Welcome to winter, the season of scarcity.
As political will declines, funding tightens and tensions rise,
this is the time for us to meet the moment.
We don't see this moment as crisis. We see it as soil, full of dormant potential,
to preserve what's to come.
This season gives us the chance to reconvene.
As a private investor and lender, winter is a prompt to innovate, imagine
new approaches and surface more evidence of outcomes.
While reaffirming what we’ve always stood for, we dare to transform for better.
"This moment is a critical juncture for impact.
For us, it’s about staying true to who we are, deepening our roots and advancing
our vision to create real-world, lasting outcomes.
That’s why I believe this moment is powerful: it’s a clarion call
to lead with purpose and shape what comes next."
Kosuke Mori, CEO
02
SPRING
EMERGING WITH NEW BEGINNINGS
As winter thaws into spring, it’s time for new solutions to grow.
But fresh growth can’t emerge unless we confront
what’s lacking.
For the past decades, the sector has focused on financial inclusion:
expanding access to credit, accounts, and
digital tools.
Even so, access does not equal outcome. It is only the seed.
Creating Lasting Change
Through Finance
A Dialogue with CGAP
We speak to Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy, Financial Sector Specialist & Asia
Regional Lead at CGAP, a leading global platform housed at
the World Bank that works to advance financial inclusion.
“Remarkable progress in financial access has been made in the last 15 years.
Yet 1.3 billion people remain unbanked. Now is the time
for private players to meet the moment,
step up and not retreat from their impact commitments.”
Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy, CGAP
Now, more than ever, we need to rethink the metrics of
success and the mechanics of hope.
Part of this requires rethinking financial well-being itself
and clarifying how change happens to get there. We can then explore how
resilience at the individual level could seed structural change.
That’s the gap we’re stepping into.
03
SUMMER
CULTIVATING
THE CONDITIONS
FOR CHANGE
We have now reached summer, the season of abundance.
But when things flourish, they can also fray.
And as climate events grow more extreme and unpredictable,
it becomes even more important to observe, invest, and most importantly, care.
Observing What Matters
We don’t measure success by reach alone, but by what actually changes.
We continue our discipline and rigour by measuring our outputs and outcomes,
then transparently reporting our findings.
Our insights are used as a strategic tool to inform investment
decisions and support the impact journey.
2024
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2025
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2024
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2025
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2024
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2025
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2024
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
2025
$500M +
in funding secured for our Client
This approach is underpinned by two key milestones:
Bluemark independent verification
Impact Principles signatory
Investing in our Partners
We don’t stop at access. We design for what happens after.
This means cultivating the conditions for long-term growth.
Our investments go beyond, acting as strategic levers for lasting impact.
We build capacity in our partners and strengthen what surrounds them.
This enables inclusive innovation ecosystems that are resilient, scalable, and future-fit.
In the video below, watch how Saison works with our partners
Helicap and Validus through technical assistance.
Engaging with Care
Through seasons, our impact approach stays grounded in our belief that well-being
can only happen if financial services are delivered with care.
We combine process, partnership and patient finance to connect
and incentivise companies to build responsible and inclusive financial systems globally.
Patience – Process – Partnership
Read more about our approach
here.
SPECIAL FEATURE
AGROFORTE - ENABLING A BROADER APPROACH TO IMPACT
Access to tailored credit in the animal protein sector is a powerful lever
to strengthen rural livelihoods and food security, especially for small producers.
Read more to understand how we use technical assistance to equip our partners,
transforming livelihoods and sustainability in Brazil's poultry and dairy sector.
Read More04
AUTUMN
Harvesting meaningful impact
There’s a perception that pursuing impact means compromising returns.
But we’ve seen otherwise. Promising companies and models are emerging across our portfolio,
proving that financial and impact returns can go hand in hand.
This is the natural next step in our journey:
a season of harvest where seeds bear fruit.
Watch our impact in action and the kind of change we harvest,
one that starts small but reshapes entire ecosystems:
VOICES FROM THE GROUND UP
We believe the future of finance is not just who it includes,
but who it enables to thrive.
Financial inclusion opened the door. Financial well-being is what turns that
opening into a journey as people are able to chart their path,
pursue aspirations, live with freedom and embrace true peace of mind.
Well-being is a spectrum. Not a single destination.
A system. Not a single metric.
A lived future. Not a theoretical model.
We dare to listen to the people we serve. Without preconceived biases.
Without assumptions.
We ask them what financial well-being truly means to them.
Their stories expand the definition.
05
A NEW SEASON
imagining
TOGETHER FOR
A NEW season
As the cycle turns, we return to
winter with stored insight and strength.
We don’t have all the answers. But we are ready to
explore new ground and tend to the garden for bolder futures.
If we want new outcomes, we must first dare
to imagine different futures.
This is an invitation to collectively transform
what finance can become.
Because seeds of change need to be planted, nurtured,
and watered beyond the seasons.
Let’s not wait for systems to catch up.
Let’s cultivate the conditions for them to change.
With courage.
With clarity.
With care.
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