Softbank, SmartAge.com JV Looks to Japan’s Small Businesses

Softbank and SmartAge.com Monday joined for a venture
to bring SmartAge’s small business-oriented site to the Japanese
marketplace.

The SmartAge Japan Corp. will launch its sites in April and will offer
online tools to help small business incorporate the Internet as a means of
expanding revenue. SmartAge’s free ad banner exchange service will also be
brought along in the deal.

Bill Lohse, founder of SmartAge and previous Softbank employee, expressed
his excitement at rolling out SmartAge’s first international site.

The two companies also pointed to IDC research which forecasts the doubling
of Japan’s online population, from 9.1 million this year to 2.3 billion in
2003. Softbank President and CEO Ken Miyauchi also indicated that the
marketplace is ripe, with the growth of the small business sector in Japan
on the rise.

Softbank made a secondary investment in SmartAge.com last year, adding $39
million to its financial injection. At the same time, SmartAge.com announced
its intentions to enter the market in Japan, the U.K., and France through
joint ventures.