[Photo] Toss, after Zigbang, holds the 11th graduation ceremony of the Youth Startup Academy

At the graduation ceremony of the 11th class of the Youth Startup Academy held on the 25th, the graduates and Kim Hak-do, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Venture Promotion Corporation (fourth from the left), are taking a commemorative photo.

Kim Hak-do, President of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, is speaking at the 11th graduation ceremony of the Youth Startup Academy held on the 25th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Small and Medium Business Corporation announced on the 25th that it held the graduation ceremony for the 11th Youth Startup Academy (Cheongchangsah) at the Seoul Youth Startup Academy in Mok-dong, Seoul.

The graduation ceremony was conducted both online and offline with minimal on-site attendance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On this day, 1,044 representatives of the 11th class of youth startup companies graduated. These early-stage companies within three years of establishment achieved sales of 265.8 billion KRW, employment of 3,548 people, and investment attraction of 22.8 billion KRW by the end of December last year.

Since its opening in 2011, a total of 5,842 entrepreneurs have passed through Cheongchangsah, and two unicorn companies with a corporate value exceeding 1 trillion KRW have been born.

In 2018, Viva Republica (CEO Lee Seung-geon, 2nd class), which provides the Toss service, and last year, Zigbang (CEO Ahn Sung-woo, 1st class) were recognized as unicorn companies.

Kim Hak-do, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, promised, "We will actively support startup companies to grow into unicorn companies using Cheongchangsah as a stepping stone and to lead the startup ecosystem."

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