On December 30 the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) announced the selection of 300 ICT startups to take part in the second K-Global 300 support program.
The program is based on the Ministry’s “ICT Startup and Venture Policy Integration and Linkage Plan” which was established to support new companies more efficiently. The plan selects promising startups that have high-growth potential, with a total of 100.9 billion won (USD $84.04 million) invested in the first round of companies in 2015.
200 of the selected companies previously received support from the K-Global Project between 2014-2016, and the remaining 100 were recommend by CCIEs (Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation) from different areas around the country. Of the 300 startups, 22% are based outside of the Seoul Capital area, a good number in an ecosystem which often makes it difficult for startups in regional areas to get ahead.
The program will offer support in multiple ways, including funding, office space, consulting and R&D – as well as the chance for startups to take part in the K-Global@ overseas road show and meet foreign investors.
Jung Wan-yong, ICT Industry Policy Officer at MSIP, emphasized that startups and venture companies with high potential play an important role in Korea’s economy which is faced with low growth. “We will provide effective support to the selected companies in the second round of K-Global 300, and achieve successes in the form of attracting large investment and entering overseas markets.” said Jung.
The list of startups selected for the 2nd K-Global 300 can be viewed in Korean here (PDF).
