Seoul Business Agency Provides Up to 20 Million KRW in Funding to SMEs in G-Valley

Recruiting 12 Companies by Next Month 2nd... Strengthening Competitiveness of G-Valley Enterprises
Achieved Results Including 24.8 Billion KRW Fundraising and 21 MOUs Signed Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] The Seoul Business Agency (SBA) announced on the 11th that it is recruiting companies to participate in the 'G-Valley Scale-Up Support Project.' The application period is from the 15th of this month to the 2nd of next month.

The recruitment target is small and medium-sized enterprises located in G-Valley that wish to commercialize products, technologies, or services. A total of 12 companies will be finally selected through a step-by-step evaluation process, including the first document screening and the second presentation evaluation. Companies wishing to apply can submit their applications online through the SBA website.

The G-Valley Scale-Up Support Project is a program to discover and nurture companies that will lead the revitalization of the regional economy in G-Valley, located in the western part of Seoul. It supports the commercialization of new products and new technologies of G-Valley companies and their stable market entry. This year's project aims to strengthen the competitiveness of G-Valley companies facing difficulties in creating new businesses and developing sales channels due to the prolonged economic downturn caused by COVID-19.

Selected companies can receive up to 20 million KRW in project funding. The funding covers costs for the commercialization of products, technologies, and services, such as acquiring intellectual property rights and promoting product manufacturing. Companies can freely choose detailed support items such as patent, trademark, and design applications, technology transfer, software advancement, and product mold production.

In addition, SBA plans to provide mentoring and consulting in various fields such as market research and analysis, mass production of products, and investment attraction preparation by linking with specialized networks in investment, technology, sales channels, and marketing.

Last year, a total of 10 companies were supported through this project. As a result, they attracted funds worth 24.8 billion KRW and signed 21 memorandums of understanding (MOUs), achieving various outcomes.

For example, the 4th-year startup S, selected last year, developed a 'user authentication and mobile payment service solution' and was ranked first in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Baby Unicorn' program. S secured 15.9 billion KRW in funding and succeeded in attracting investments worth 7 billion KRW.

Additionally, the 2nd-year startup A developed an application that assesses the degree of hair loss progression using a smartphone camera, successfully attracting investments worth 500 million KRW and signing three MOUs with specialized hair hospitals and others.

Moon Guseon, head of SBA's Base Support Headquarters, stated, "This will be an opportunity for G-Valley companies, which are experiencing long-term management difficulties due to the slowdown in economic growth, to create new businesses and strengthen their competitiveness." He added, "SBA will continue to lead the creation of new growth engines this year as well, and since the companies that participated in the project previously are showing visible results, we look forward to the participation of many companies this year."