Incheon City Expands University-Led Youth Startup Platform... Plans to Raise 11 Billion Won Fund

by Park Haesook

Published 10 Apr.2025 14:36(KST)

Incheon City is expanding university-led startup platforms and promoting the establishment of a youth startup fund to revitalize youth entrepreneurship.

The university-led youth startup platform began in 2023 through a business agreement between nine local universities and Incheon Technopark to spread youth startup culture and nurture entrepreneurial talent. Since then, each university has actively participated and made various efforts to revitalize the startup ecosystem.

In particular, as part of this project, the second Incheon University Union Startup Academy to be held this year plans to expand its scale from last year, supporting about 200 participants from 13 universities, including four universities from the Incheon Global Campus.

The Startup Academy progresses through three stages: the first stage startup camp, the second stage startup stepping stone, and the third stage startup competition, with prize money and commercialization funds provided to outstanding participating teams.

Participants form joint teams to discover citizen-experience-oriented ideas that can improve the quality of life for citizens and compete for the championship. The winning team will also be given the opportunity to attend overseas exhibitions, allowing them to directly experience the know-how of promising global companies and enhance their global capabilities.

Incheon City Hall

Based on a joint project fund of 11 billion KRW contributed by nine universities in Incheon, the city plans to establish and operate the 'Incheon University Youth Startup Fund' phases 1 and 2.

This fund helps young entrepreneurs in the early stages of startups, who find it difficult to receive private investment, to operate their businesses stably and supports startup companies with technological capabilities to grow into innovative companies.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We hope that with the expansion of the city's support, youth entrepreneurship leading Incheon's future will be revitalized."