IBK Industrial Bank Selects 61 Startups for IBK Changgong... "Full Support Provided"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] IBK Industrial Bank announced on the 2nd that it has finally selected 61 innovative startup companies for the second half of this year’s ‘IBK Changgong’ program and will begin a five-month startup incubation program in Mapo and Guro, Seoul, and Busan.

For the second half of this year, 19 companies were selected for the 5th Mapo cohort, 20 companies for the 4th Guro cohort, and 22 companies for the 3rd Busan cohort. A total of 645 companies applied, recording a competition rate of 10.5 to 1.

The selected companies were mostly in the information and communication fields such as platforms, Internet of Things (IoT), and ICT, accounting for 33%. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the knowledge service sector (26%), which includes non-face-to-face (untact) industries utilizing games, movies, advertising, and design, as well as the health diagnosis sector (13%), also showed strong performance. In addition, companies with both technological capabilities and marketability in materials, parts, equipment, and biohealth were finally selected.

Going forward, the selected companies will participate in customized programs after a preliminary diagnostic evaluation. IBK Changgong provides shared office-style workspaces and expert consulting in fields such as legal, IP, tax, and accounting. IBK Financial Group also plans to support investment and financing.

Industrial Bank will operate the program in collaboration with professional accelerator institutions for five months. N15 Partners will provide one-on-one customized mentoring for selected companies at the Mapo Center, CNT Tech at the Guro Center, and iPartners at the Busan Center.

IBK Changgong is an IBK-style startup incubation program that has nurtured 182 companies since its opening in December 2017 through the first half of this year. It has provided financial support of 100.8 billion KRW in investment and financing, and 2,172 non-financial support sessions including mentoring, consulting, and investor relations (IR) presentations.

An Industrial Bank official said, “We plan to actively introduce a support system tailored to the startup life cycle to continuously contribute to the creation of a startup growth ecosystem,” adding, “We will provide optimal financial and non-financial support to the finally selected companies.”