April 20, 2024

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K-Startup Center, a government backed platform that supports Korean startups’ overseas growth, expanded its network on July 8.

The center, backed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, launched the KSC last year with three overseas centers in India, US and Israel. This week, it added Sweden, Finland and Singapore to its network.

The ministry said the KSC will provide active support to promising startups that are beyond the seed-stage. The services it provides for startups include matching them with a local partner company, developing a sophisticated business model, and a global market entry fund of up to 80 million won ($67,000).

SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun makes a speech during the opening ceremony of three new K-Startup Centers. (Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

“The KSC provides full support to promising Korean startups to enable them to smoothly settle into the local ecosystems and work toward global scale-up, and serves as a stage for the exchange and cooperation among startup networks of diverse countries,” SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun said during the launching ceremony that was held under the slogan that ‘K-startups must continue their efforts despite the COVID-19 outbreak.’

“K-innovation ventures, as leaders of the digital economy in the post-COVID-19 era, will rise as global companies capable of changing the life paradigm of the global community, where people are increasingly moving toward an untact (non-face-to-face contact) world,” Park said.

She also added that exchange and cooperation of startups between countries should be further expanded in the post COVID-19 world considering the recent growth in startups based on contactless service.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)