Startup Industry "More Support Needed for Mid and Late Growth Stages"

"Harder to Secure Investment as Startups Move from Early to Later Stages"

The startup industry welcomed the government's announcement of the 'Innovation Venture and Startup Funding Support and Competitiveness Enhancement Plan' on the 20th, while emphasizing the need for more support for mid-stage and late-stage growth companies.

On the same day, the Korea Startup Forum stated that the government's measures "are expected to be of great help to ventures and startups struggling with high interest rates and investment contraction, following the small and medium business 3-high (high cost, high interest, high exchange rate) overcoming support measures announced last January."

The Innovation Venture and Startup Funding Support and Competitiveness Enhancement Plan includes meaningful measures such as an additional funding support of 10.5 trillion won, investment promotion through regulatory improvements, and the introduction of multiple voting rights.

However, the startup industry pointed out that "when looking at the amount of funding support, there is a significant difference by growth stage: 6.1 trillion won for early stage, 1.9 trillion won for mid-stage, and 400 billion won for late stage," adding that "ventures and startups find it increasingly difficult to receive investments as they move from early to mid and late stages, and considering the recent economic situation, more support is needed for mid-stage and late-stage growth companies."

The Korea Startup Forum further stated, "The increase in new contributions to the Korea Fund of Funds, which has been continuously requested in the startup ecosystem, was not included in this announcement," adding, "We hope that the increase in new contributions to the Korea Fund of Funds will be definitely reflected in future policy announcements and review processes."

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