Z Venture Capital (ZVC) has invested in Dwilar, Inc., a cross-border credit platform helping foreigners access essential services in Japan. This is our second investment in Dwilar, following our participation in their pre-seed round.

*Japan hit a record 36 million inbound visitors in 2024, and the number of foreign workers exceeded 2.3 million by the end of October—up more than 12% from the previous year.

As more people come to Japan for travel, work, and study, many still face real barriers when trying to rent an apartment, purchase a mobile phone on installment, or open a bank account. The reason? Japan’s credit system is largely built around domestic data, making it difficult for foreigners with no local credit history to get approved for even the basics.

That’s where Dwilar comes in. By integrating with credit bureaus in 42 countries and connecting to major open banking APIs, Dwilar allows users to present their home-country credit data in real time. Since launching in February 2025, Dwilar has already signed 12 clients across Japan and the U.S., and is on track for ¥120 million in projected ARR with 300% monthly growth.

Real estate agencies and guarantor companies are using Dwilar to improve approval rates for foreign customers, embedding the platform directly into their screening processes. The product is already solving a clear and urgent pain point—and the partnership pipeline keeps growing. Going forward, Dwilar plans to expand beyond credit checks into a full-service onboarding agent, using AI to help users with property selection, paperwork, and more.

CEO Yoshitaka Nakamura founded Dwilar based on his own experience navigating Japan’s credit barriers as an immigrant. He moves fast—testing ideas, validating with customers, and closing deals in weeks, not months. His ability to move seamlessly between product thinking and execution is rare, and exactly what we look for at the seed stage.

Dwilar’s mission is to make cross-border mobility and new beginnings smoother through better credit infrastructure. As Japan becomes more multicultural, we believe Dwilar is building essential infrastructure for the future—and we’re excited to support them on that journey.

We conducted an interview with Dwilar and ZVC alongside this investment. Please also check out the interview article：https://zvc.vc/dwilar_zvc_interview/

Dwilar's website: http://dwilar.tech

(Sources)

*¹ Japan National Tourism Organization：Number of Foreign Visitors to Japan (December 2024 and Annual Estimate)
https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/press/20250115_monthly.html

*² Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare：Summary of "Status of Foreign Employment" Reports (As of the end of October 2025)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_50256.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com