Opening of 'K-Startup Centers' in Singapore, Sweden, and Finland

Focused Support for Promising Startups to Establish Locally Overseas

At the opening ceremony of the K-Startup Center held on the 8th, Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a greeting.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 8th that it held opening ceremonies for three K-Startup Centers (hereinafter KSC) in Singapore, Sweden, and Finland at Justco Tower in Gangnam, Seoul, and plans to focus on supporting the overseas settlement and growth of Korean startups.

The KSC opening ceremony was attended not only on-site but also online by accelerators, venture investors, and related organizations from countries such as Sweden and Finland. KSC is a global startup platform that comprehensively supports local networks, funding, office space, and more to help startups settle into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and connect startup ecosystems between countries.

Following the opening of KSCs in New Delhi, Seattle, and Tel Aviv last year, new centers were established this year in Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; and Singapore. At the opening ceremony, Eero Suominen, Ambassador of Finland to Korea; Eric Teo, Ambassador of Singapore to Korea; Haim Hosen, Ambassador of Israel to Korea; Sripriya Ranganathan, Ambassador of India to Korea; and related organizations such as Business Sweden and Enterprise Singapore attended. Additionally, Ibrahim Baylan, Minister of Enterprise and Innovation of Sweden, and Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore, expressed their support for the KSC openings through congratulatory videos, pledging active support for the settlement of K-Startups locally.

Considering social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of on-site attendees was limited to about 50, and all attendees were required to fill out a health questionnaire using the electronic registration system of Ion Communications, a company selected for 'KSC Stockholm.'

Meanwhile, as a result of recruiting companies to enter the six countries where K-Startup Centers opened this year, a total of 279 companies applied for 92 available spots, showing a competition ratio of 3.3 to 1. An analysis of companies selected in four countries showed that 80% of the supported companies had already secured investment at the seed stage or beyond. Starting with this opening ceremony, KSC selected companies will undergo acceleration programs to measure the localization level of their startup items and refine entry strategies through business matching with investors, partners, and large corporations. Furthermore, follow-up support will include overseas expansion funds up to 80 million KRW, startup overseas expansion vouchers up to 30 million KRW, and local shared office spaces.

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry said, "The K-Startup Centers focus on supporting our startups to settle into local ecosystems and grow into global companies, while serving as places where startup networks between countries exchange and cooperate." She emphasized, "Considering the recent growth of startups mainly in the non-face-to-face sector, exchanges and cooperation between startups across countries should expand further in the post-COVID era."

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