Yoshimi Wie

EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Asia-Pacific Class of 2023
Founder and CEO, Aba Inc., Japan

Yoshimi Wie is the Founder and CEO of Aba, a Japan-based manufacturer of nursing technology products. Aba Inc was established in 2011.

One of the demanding challenges faced by caregivers and nursing homes is the handling of patient excretion facilities. Yoshimi, who took care of her own grandmother during junior high school, knew the hardships well and wanted to reduce the burden on caregivers. This motivated her to kick-start Aba while she was a student in Chiba Institute of Technology's Department of Future Robotics.

The primary product that Aba manufactures is the Help Pad, an AI-based bed pad for the elderly and disabled patients. The Help Pad assists caregivers to know when a patient needs to change diaper without opening the diaper, by using the help of odor sensors. The idea of using sensors to detect elimination came to Yoshimi in 2008. However, the commercialization was only possible after the establishment of Aba. She also faced some obstacles as nursing care facilities were uncooperative in her efforts to collect data for the product.

In the mid to long term, Yoshimi wants to create products that will help everyone participate in nursing care. She reckons the company will achieve a cumulative total of 100,000 Help Pad units by 2028 and expand overseas. Aba is also aiming for an IPO in 2026.