Gwanak District Joins Forces with 282 Investment Firms to Nurture Startups

Agreement with the Korea Early-Stage Investment Accelerator Association

On February 5, Gwanak District in Seoul (Mayor Park Junhee) announced that it will join forces with the Korea Early-Stage Investment Accelerator Association to establish a full-cycle support system for Gwanak S-Valley startups, ranging from attracting investment to achieving growth.

Tenant company representatives who participated in last year's Gwanak S Valley Networking Day, and Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu (front row, center). Provided by Gwanak-gu.

The Korea Early-Stage Investment Accelerator Association is the largest early-stage investment ecosystem organization in the country, with 282 professional investment firms as members. The district signed a business agreement with the association on January 28.

To vitalize the Gwanak S-Valley startup ecosystem, the district has so far created two funds, starting with the first fund at a scale of 20 billion won. In particular, it has stipulated that more than 50% of the committed capital of these funds must be invested in companies located in Gwanak District, thereby helping local startups ease funding shortages and achieve sustainable growth.

Through this agreement, professional investment networks and capabilities will be added to these efforts. The agreement covers cooperation in discovering and nurturing promising startups, providing startup infrastructure and connecting them with mentor and expert networks, organically linking startup infrastructure with early-stage investment capabilities, and supporting follow-up investment attraction by leveraging the association’s member firm network.

An official from the district explained, "This agreement reflects Gwanak District’s determination to resolve, at the district level, the funding challenges that are the biggest difficulty startups face in the commercialization process."

The district plans to explore various cooperation measures to utilize the expert network and investment capabilities held by the association for the growth of Gwanak S-Valley startups. Its policy is to help local startups overcome the so-called "Death Valley," in which they face crises in continuing their business due to early-stage funding shortages, and to support them in entering a stable growth trajectory.

Mayor Park Junhee of Gwanak District said, "This agreement will serve as a link between more than 280 professional investment firms and Gwanak S-Valley, providing greater growth opportunities for local startups," adding, "We will provide focused support so that Gwanak S-Valley companies can maintain a stable growth momentum by building strategic partnerships with professional investment institutions."

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