Exclusive 'Rechallenge Fund' for Failed Businesses Launched in Gyeonggi-do... First Nationwide

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is creating and supporting a 'Rechallenge Fund' worth 15 billion KRW.

The Rechallenge Fund is part of Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's pledge for a 'fair economy full of innovation' and was established to help companies wishing to retry after failure. While the central government has previously operated funds for re-startup companies, this is the first time a local government is managing such a fund.

Unlike general funds that invest for profit, the Rechallenge Fund is meaningful in that it invests in the growth potential of technology innovation SMEs that challenge re-startup using failure experience as an asset.

On the 9th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it signed a 'Rechallenge Investment Association Formation Agreement' with NongHyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, Sungkyunkwan University, Kingo Investment Partners Co., Ltd., Honest Ventures LLC, and the Director of Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency.

Governor Lee Jae-myung said in his greeting, "Failure, if well utilized, is a good asset, but unfortunately, our society stigmatizes failure once, making it difficult to stand up again. In baseball, a strikeout means out, but if a player is never allowed back to the plate just because they swung the bat wrong the first time, can the game continue? Now is the time to think about this rationally."

He continued, "Statistics show that re-startup companies have a higher survival rate than first-time startups. Making good use of the opportunity for rechallenge will be more efficient for the nation and society. I hope this fund becomes a beacon of hope for the younger generation and those challenging entrepreneurship. Let's create a successful model together," he urged.

The province expects the Rechallenge Fund to provide significant help to re-startup companies that have developed technology with difficulty but face challenges in funding and product commercialization due to credit issues.

The contributions to the Rechallenge Fund are ▲Gyeonggi Province 8 billion KRW ▲Kingo Partners and Honest Ventures LLC 1.9 billion KRW ▲NongHyup Bank 2.9 billion KRW ▲Shinhan Bank 1 billion KRW ▲Sungkyunkwan University 1 billion KRW.

The Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency oversees the fund. The professional venture capital firms Kingo Investment Partners Co., Ltd. and Honest Ventures jointly manage it. The management period is until December 2027.

According to the agreement, more than 70% of the raised funds will be invested in promising small and medium-sized venture companies in the province, with over 8 billion KRW allocated to local rechallenge companies with high potential for recovery after business failure.

The investment limit is up to 1.5 billion KRW per company.

The agreement institutions will actively support invested companies with technology development, market expansion, and provide various information and network expansion necessary for strengthening competitiveness and job creation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.