'34th Anniversary' Kibo, Guarantee Support of 445 Trillion Won and 840,000 Technology Evaluations

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The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Kibo), established on April 1, 1989, to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with excellent technological and business potential but insufficient collateral through the technology guarantee system, has celebrated its 34th anniversary.

On the 3rd, Kibo announced that, considering the recent difficult economic situation, it skipped a formal anniversary event and instead held activities such as a 'Kibo 34th Anniversary Congratulatory Message Writing' event using ChatGPT, allowing all employees to reflect together on Kibo's role and future.

In his anniversary speech, Chairman Kim Jong-ho emphasized that the mission of policy financial institutions is to serve as a market safety net, market leader, and to earn public trust. He further urged ▲ increasing guarantee supply to play a solid market safety net role and strengthening scale-up support amid the emergency economic situation with spreading financial market uncertainties ▲ advancing the technology evaluation system by utilizing technology evaluation data and know-how to establish Kibo as a unique technology evaluation institution ▲ fostering a vibrant organizational culture through intergenerational communication and an open mindset.

Since its establishment, Kibo has supported the growth of innovative companies through 445 trillion KRW in guarantee support and 840,000 technology evaluations by the end of last year. It has also led the establishment of a smart technology transaction brokerage system and systematic technology protection services.

On the occasion of its 34th anniversary, an internal analysis of Kibo-supported companies confirmed that Kibo has significantly contributed to the innovative growth and scale-up of technology SMEs. Among 35,123 venture companies, 24,210 (69%) received Kibo guarantees; among 21,392 Inno-Biz companies, 16,736 (78%) were supported; among 34 unicorn companies, 20 (59%) had Kibo guarantees; and among KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and KONEX listed companies, 1,301 (53%) had a history of receiving Kibo guarantees.

Additionally, to revitalize the private investment market and cover blind spots, since introducing the guarantee-linked investment system in 2005, a total of 42.4 billion KRW has been invested in 452 technology SMEs up to last year. Among these, 242 companies attracted follow-up investments totaling 2.1837 trillion KRW, and 33 companies succeeded in going public (IPO).

Kibo plans to supply technology guarantees totaling 26.7 trillion KRW this year, including 5.7 trillion KRW in new guarantees and 21 trillion KRW in maturity extensions. To ensure excellent technology companies can secure sufficient funds for their businesses, new guarantees will be increased by 1.5 trillion KRW from the previous year to 5.7 trillion KRW. It also plans to support 50 billion KRW in guarantee-linked investments for early-stage startups and regional companies, 40 billion KRW in factoring services that enable early cash conversion of accounts receivable without repayment burden, and 500 billion KRW in guarantee support for carbon neutrality responses by SMEs and venture companies.

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