Shinhan Financial Group to Foster ESG Startups

Addition of ESG Startups to Next Year's Shinhan Futures Lab 7-1 Recruitment
New 'Shinhan Futures Solution' Program Established to Address Social Issues in Vietnam

Shin Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, delivering a greeting at the 6th Shinhan Futures Lab Demo Day held on the 7th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] Shinhan Financial Group's 'Shinhan Futures Lab,' the first startup incubation program in the domestic financial sector, announced on the 23rd that it will establish and nurture an ESG startup category starting from the 7-1st cohort next year.

Since its launch of the 1st cohort on May 1, 2015, Shinhan Futures Lab has discovered and nurtured a total of 195 innovative startups, including 55 companies in the 6th cohort this year, and has directly and indirectly invested a total of 33.1 billion KRW in domestic and overseas incubated companies to date.

Shinhan Financial Group is concentrating its group-wide capabilities on ESG management. Last month, it became the first East Asian financial group to declare a group-level eco-friendly strategy called the 'Zero Carbon Drive,' and established an ESG planning team to strengthen the execution of sustainable finance.

Shinhan Futures Lab has also added the ESG category starting from the 7-1st cohort recruitment. In addition to startups with technological capabilities in fintech, deep tech, content, and healthcare, which were previously selected, startups with excellent technology that meet ESG evaluation criteria such as eco-friendliness and social problem-solving will also be selected.

Selected companies will receive various programs including startup stage-specific incubation and investment, office space rental, and mentoring through the 'S-Membership' benefits, along with business expansion opportunities through collaboration with Shinhan Financial Group affiliates and large corporate partners.

Additionally, a new 'Shinhan Futures Solution' program will be established to address various social issues such as digital education gaps, youth job-seeking activities, and health problems of local residents by fostering cooperation between Korean startups with innovative technology and community platforms in Vietnam.

Through this, the program aims to support startups wishing to enter the Vietnamese market, deliver excellent Korean startup technologies locally, and continuously create shared social value.

A Shinhan Financial Group official stated, "By establishing the ESG category in the recruitment of the 7-1st cohort of Shinhan Futures Lab, we plan to nurture startups that create social value as well as sustainable startups. We will actively support the growth of startups into unicorn companies by building a cooperative ecosystem for their global expansion and scale-up."

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