HONOLULU—The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation (Takitani) has committed $25,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), Shidler College of Business. The gift will be matched by the UH Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation to seed the Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation Innovation Fellowship Program.
Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation Seeds Innovation Fellowship at the Pacific Asian Center for Entrterpreneurship
Takitani’s gift will go toward the five-year PACE Initiative that was launched in February 2014. The goal of the initiative is to raise $3 million to create new programs and expand existing ones. Funds raised through the initiative will also be used to renovate and expand the current location in the Shidler College of Business. The new center will enable PACE to create a vibrant co-working space for entrepreneurial activity at the university. Additionally the new center will double the number of entrepreneurial programs offered, introduce an entrepreneurial curriculum to other UH colleges, train key faculty on current entrepreneurial instruction, support the commercialization of UH technology and innovation, and establish UH as a leader in entrepreneurial education.
To date, more than $2 million has been raised with investments from various donors, notably Central Pacific Bank’s chairman and CEO John Dean, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, and American Savings Bank.
The highly coveted Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation Innovation Fellowship will be awarded to high-achieving students at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Under the guidance of an advisor, Takitani Innovation Fellows will provide strategic planning services to companies on issues related to market expansion, new product launch, and acquisition. Fellows may also work on select UH innovation and technologies that matriculate into the Proof of Concept Center (POCC) housed within PACE.
“PACE, with its game-changing entrepreneurial educational programs, is a great match for the Takitanis, who understood what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs and whose Foundation is dedicated to helping Hawai‘i students achieve their goals,” said Michael W. Perry, chairman of the board of the Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation.
“Entrepreneurial education happens in both the classroom and the real world. The Takitani gift enables PACE to provide the brightest students with an entrepreneurial focus to get their hands dirty and ‘practice’ entrepreneurship. They will be developing business plans, financial projections, market analyses and working hand-in-hand with entrepreneurs to develop their businesses,” said Yamada.
“We are extremely grateful to the Takitani Foundation for their generosity to PACE and the University of Hawai‘i,” said UH vice president for research and innovation, Vassilis L. Syrmos. “This wonderful gift brings PACE one step closer to expanding on its dynamic entrepreneurial programs for our students and faculty—now a cornerstone to university’s efforts to commercialize its technology in support of the Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative.”
The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to helping Hawai‘i’s youth achieve their educational and career goals by providing scholarships and other educational opportunities to Hawai‘i students. The Foundation also supports local programs that create innovative change in education. Talented entrepreneurs Mamoru and Aiko Takitani, founders of Hawaiian Host, created the Foundation in 1993 to thank the people of Hawai‘i for their outstanding support of Hawaiian Host products. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided over $2 million in scholarships to deserving students.
# # #
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
