B Dash Camp, an event for start-up managers and investors, was held in Sapporo from 22-24 March. Tokyo-based startup Singular Perturbations, a developer of crime prevention systems, won the pitch contest for business model.

Singular Perturbations' system uses a unique algorithm to calculate the probability of crime based on the location of past incidents and the surrounding building structure. CEO Mami Kajita conceived the idea for the business after being the victim of a pickpocket attack in Italy.

The company has worked with 11 government agencies in Latin America, including Brazil and Honduras. CEO Kajita emphasised the success in deterring crime, saying, "Our transition learning technology enables highly accurate predictions even with a small amount of data, and we were able to curb 70% of crimes after the introduction of the system.”

The runner-up was emole, which operates the short drama distribution app BUMP, which distributes short, three-minute dramas, the first few episodes of which are free and the next episode can be viewed by watching an advertisement.

Around 100 companies applied for the pitch competition, with six passing the qualifying rounds. Each company gave a five-minute presentation on its growth potential and competitive advantage, which was evaluated by a panel of six judges during an eight-minute Q&A session.

The B Dash Camp is held twice a year, with the next one scheduled to take place in Fukuoka Prefecture in early November.

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