KDB, May ADB Meeting 'Asia Venture Business Challenge' Contest Announcement

ADB Annual Meeting Announces Contest on Websites of KDB, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Venture Business Association, and Korea Venture Capital Association
Winning Companies Offered IR Opportunity on NextRound, Korea's Leading Venture Investment Platform

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced on the 19th that it will co-host the "Asia Venture Business Challenge" contest (May 4) as part of the business events during the ADB (Asian Development Bank) Annual Meeting held from May 2 to 5 at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, together with the Korea International Trade Association, Korea Venture Business Association, and Korea Venture Capital Association.

The Asia Venture Business Challenge is one of the business events at the ADB Annual Meeting in May, featuring an IR session for promising startups that have advanced to the finals of the contest.

The theme of this contest is "Developing Smart, Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Cities in Asia," aiming to discover promising domestic and international business models/technologies that can contribute to solving various development challenges faced by Asian cities.

Eligible participants are promising startups established within 7 years as of the announcement date, both domestic and international, and applications can be submitted until midnight on June 15. After document screening by April 10, finalists will be selected through a presentation evaluation on May 4.

One grand prize winner, one excellence award winner, and one encouragement award winner will be selected. ADB Ventures may provide technical assistance for pilot testing to one suitable finalist company if it deems the submitted business model/technology applicable to projects in ADB developing member countries. ADB Ventures, launched this year as ADB’s startup support division, plans to invest in promising regional startups with a fund of approximately 60 million USD.

Additionally, winning companies will be offered IR opportunities through KDB NextRound. KDB NextRound is Korea’s leading market-type venture investment platform that provides startups with investment attraction opportunities and investors with chances to discover quality investment targets and recover investments. It holds promising startup IR sessions three times a week at KDB’s headquarters. As of the end of last year, a total of 325 rounds have been held, with 1,171 companies participating in IR sessions, resulting in 250 companies raising 1.4508 trillion KRW in investments.

Startups wishing to participate in this contest can obtain application documents through banners on the websites of KDB, the ADB Annual Meeting, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Venture Business Association, and Korea Venture Capital Association.

A KDB official stated, "This contest will not only serve as a platform to collectively consider solutions to common problems among ADB member countries but is also expected to be a great opportunity for Korean startups presenting excellent technologies and business models to enter the Asian market."