Global Startup Academy Graduates, Expanding into the Global Market

Global Startup Academy 2nd Graduation Ceremony Held

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 18th that it held the graduation ceremony for the 2nd class at the Global Startup Academy located in G Tower, Guro-gu, Seoul. The Global Startup Academy is a program that provides integrated services including world-class incubation, technology-specialized education, office space, and commercialization funds to promising startups within three years of establishment aiming for global expansion.

According to the Ministry, the 58 companies graduating from the 2nd class generated a total sales revenue of 11.9 billion KRW and created 132 new jobs during the approximately eight-month program participation period from April to November last year. Additionally, 11 companies recognized for their technological capabilities and business potential successfully attracted follow-up investments totaling 9.4 billion KRW, and 8 companies achieved overseas expansion through attracting foreign investment and exports during the program period.

The enrolled startups received business management know-how from five global startup accelerators residing at the Global Startup Academy: 500 Global, SOSV, Plug and Play, Startupbootcamp, and TechStars. They also enhanced their technical capabilities by receiving practical education that could be immediately applied on-site from domestic and international expert groups such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and KAIST.

The 2nd graduation ceremony was conducted with minimal on-site personnel participation considering the recent COVID-19 situation, with most graduates participating remotely. Factagora, which received the highest comprehensive evaluation considering the excellence of its business item and achievements, was awarded the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award. Baek Woo-yeol, CEO of Factagora, said, "At the Global Startup Academy, we were able to advance our commercialization model, the 'Reliable Writing Support Algorithm,'" and "this year, based on our technological capabilities, we plan to build an NFT platform where 'facts' can be traded."

Deputy Minister Kang Sung-chun of the Ministry said, "Last year, the number of domestic unicorn companies reached a record high of 18, and the Global Entrepreneurship Index rose three places to rank 6th worldwide, showing that the momentum of the second venture boom continues," adding, "We expect startups from the Global Startup Academy to lead the digital economic transformation and global expansion as the vanguard, continuing the enthusiasm of the second venture boom."

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