Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) in S. Korea is planning to launch a global accelerator as part of its “second venture boom” that was proposed as a goal for this year. The Institute for Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) under MSS, announced its 2011 Global Acceleration Support Project at the “Strategies Forum for Global Entry” held at TIPS Town in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, on April 3rd.
The project confirms the possibility of promising startups in Korea and support the localization of startup items through networking and local market and technology trend information provided by overseas accelerators. Preliminary startups with plans to expand overseas or companies with no more than seven years of startups are eligible for the support.
A foreign accelerator shall select startups that will participate in business by utilizing individual evaluation indexes, including representatives, team-based startups with over two members or companies that supply and demand job security funds. Applications will be received by April 16th and a final selection will start sometime next month.
Startups confirmed to be participating will receive about 20 million won (about US$17,514) from MSS. In addition, the company will experience the accelerator program for four to six weeks in six countries, including the U.S. (Silicon Valley), China (Shanghai), Britain (London), France (Paris), Singapore (Singapore), and Vietnam (Hanoi). Various support will be provided through a matching local accelerator, including market research, localization of items and global marketing.
MSS also plans to carry out programs to help foreign startups make inroads into the country. Overseas startups that carry out IT businesses will visit South Korea around September through recommendations from embassies in each country. The startup founders will live in Korea for 10 days, experience Korea’s startup ecosystem and do networking with various local startup officials.
“We have formed partnerships with overseas marketers who are recognized for their capabilities to provide substantial assistance for four to six weeks,” said an official from KISED. “We will make efforts to create a startup ecosystem where global expansion is actively carried out through the establishment of a system,” he added.
