Ministry of SMEs and Startups Partners with Google to Host Demo Day for Promising App and Game Startups

Demo Day for 10 Promising Startup Teams in Apps and Games Participating in the 'Changgu Program'

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 'Changgu Community Meetup 2019' held at the Google Startup Campus in Daechi-dong. Photo by Google Play

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] An online company presentation event will be held where promising app and game companies participating in the ‘Changgu Program,’ jointly supported by the government and Google, meet with renowned domestic and international investors.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 19th that it will hold the ‘Changgu Program Demo Day (hereafter referred to as the demonstration event)’ together with Google Play at the Pangyo Startup Zone as a special event of the global startup festival ComeUp 2020.

The Changgu Program is a program created last year through collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Google Play to support startups in the app and game sectors in entering overseas markets.

Participating startups receive various benefits including commercialization funds from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, education and consulting on overseas market entry strategies from Google Play, as well as support for promotion, marketing, and investment attraction.

This year, the eligibility was expanded from startups established within 3 to 7 years to those within 7 years. The support scale also increased from 60 companies to 80 companies. The recruitment process for participating companies drew significant attention with enthusiastic responses. Following 180 applications for 60 spots last year, this year 1,190 companies applied for 80 spots, recording a high competition ratio of 14.9 to 1.

Among the 60 companies supported last year, 13 succeeded in attracting investment, and 26 newly entered overseas markets such as the United States, Europe, and China, showing tangible results.

Building on the success of the Changgu Program, this year other global companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon also joined the collaboration, expanding the ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program’ to five programs.

The demonstration event was prepared to support investment attraction for app and game startups participating in the ‘Changgu Program.’ Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Scott Vermot, Head of Google Asia Pacific, delivered congratulatory messages via video, followed by presentations and Q&A sessions by each startup.

The participating startups include 10 companies selected as excellent apps and games in this year’s Changgu Program, such as the childcare service ‘Momsitter’ and the video call-based board game service ‘Wave.’

Additionally, eight investment firms are participating in the demonstration event. Four overseas firms including 500 Startups and Glu from Silicon Valley, USA, and four domestic firms including Strong Ventures and PUBG are attending.

Through this demonstration event, startups will gain opportunities to set business directions and secure follow-up investments. Investors will seek opportunities to discover and invest in outstanding startups.

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “To revitalize investment in innovative ventures and startups, we are creating the ‘Smart Korea Fund’ this year and operating the ‘K-Unicorn Project’ to help grow global unicorn companies,” adding, “I hope the Changgu Program continues to produce results and plays a leading role as the first ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program.’”