On the 28th, Formbell (8275) announced that it had received the "Shinano-cho DX Innovation Promotion Project Business" for the fiscal year 2024 in Shinano-cho, Nagano Prefecture.

In Shinano-cho, the main industries of agriculture and tourism-related businesses are not adequately meeting modern demand due to the stagnation of farm product prices and the impact of the new coronavirus. In addition, the population of the region is declining and young people are finding it difficult to settle in the area. In addition, small business owners in Shinano-cho face challenges such as delayed digitization and a shortage of personnel, and the incorporation of digital technologies such as AI and IoT has not progressed, with a lack of concrete know-how and initiatives.

The company has been working on DX promotion in Shinano-cho since fiscal year 2023. In the second year of the project, fiscal year 2024, after research and implementation phases, the company aims to further expand the construction of the DX infrastructure in Shinano-cho.

Specific initiatives include support for business DX promotion based on last year's survey results (creating advanced DX case studies, expanding advanced DX case studies), support for digital divide countermeasures and resident DX promotion (support for digital divide countermeasures, reskilling support for women's web marketing skills), and other necessary tasks to achieve business objectives.