Turn time into power. Change the world from Africa.
Some people spend 4-6 hours a week on laundry. We return that time with washing machines, turning it into time for education, work, and family. Life Breeze is the company rooting that system in Africa.
CEO Message
01
Where I first stood.
The day I first set foot on African soil, the people were brighter and more alive than I'd expected. What I saw wasn't poverty — it was the reality that capable people were simply being robbed of their time.
02
Returning 4-6 hours a week.
One mother spent 4-6 hours each week hand-washing clothes. I asked her what she'd do if that time came back. Her answer stays with me: "I'd help my daughter with homework. I'd sell vegetables at the market. I'd laugh with my family on Sundays." A washing machine delivers more than clean clothes. It delivers time — the power to move a life forward.
03
Built together with local people.
Life Breeze's approach is simple. We don't "give orders from Japan" — we trust people who can move on the ground. Sergio in Mozambique. Ian in Kenya. Suah in Liberia. Selfie took root because they were there. We design the system, we ship the equipment. Decisions in the field belong to the field. That's the only way this lasts.
04
Not aid — a business.
Sometimes people say, "So you're doing charity in Africa?" No. We're betting on Africa as a real business. There's a real market and a real challenge. So unless we can build something that pays its own way, it won't last. And what doesn't last, helps no one. We build reproducible systems. We design structures where local partners can run on their own. Only when this grows to 10, 100, 1,000 stores can we honestly call it a business.
05
A future that circulates.
One Selfie store returns 4-6 hours a week to a mother. With that time, she starts a side business, sends her kids to school, laughs with her family. One day she becomes a store manager. Her experience travels to the next store, returning that time to another mother. This is the chain we want to circulate across Africa. That is what Life Breeze exists for.
CEO — Soichiro Tateishi
Company Overview
- Company
- Life Breeze Inc.
- CEO
- Soichiro Tateishi
- Founded
- May 15, 2024
- Business
- Coin laundry franchise operations in Africa
- Japan operations (separate company)
- youmex currently operates 15 laundromats in Japan
- Active
- Mozambique, Kenya, Liberia
- Preparing to open
- Gabon, Ghana
- Under study
- Madagascar, Tanzania, Zambia
- Local brand
- Selfie Laundromat
- Mission
- Create a future where smiles and possibilities grow
History
2020
youmex, a separate company, opens its first laundromat
Jul 2023
Preparations begin for the business in Africa
May 2024
Life Breeze Inc. founded in Shiojiri, Nagano
Nov 2024
First Mozambique store opens in Maputo
Sep 2025
First Kenya store opens in Kiambu
Nov 2025
Second Kenya store opens in Madaraka, Nairobi
Apr 2026
Second Mozambique store opens in Maputo
Jul 2026
First Liberia store opens in Monrovia — our first in West Africa
Why Africa, Why Now
Africa is moving. Population is surging. Cities are filling with young people. Smartphones are reaching rural villages.
But everyday infrastructure hasn't caught up. Laundromats are one of them.