Shinhan Financial Group Officially Launches Shinhan Futures Lab 7-1 Cohort

'Shinhan Futures Solution' Established to Select ESG Startup Areas
Chairman Cho Yong-byeong: "Startups Will Develop into Global Unicorns and Become a Strong Bridge"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Shinhan Financial Group announced on the 26th that it has selected 32 companies for the 7-1th batch of 'Shinhan Future's Lab,' the first startup accelerator program in the domestic financial sector, and has begun full-scale nurturing.

Since the launch of the first batch in May 2015, Shinhan Future's Lab has discovered and nurtured a total of 214 innovative startups up to the 6-2th batch last year, and has directly and indirectly invested 35.97 trillion KRW in domestic and overseas nurtured companies to date.

A total of 622 startups applied for the 7-1th batch recruitment. In addition to the existing recruitment fields such as fintech, deep tech, content, and healthcare, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) startups were also recruited in line with Shinhan Financial Group's company-wide ESG management strategy.

In the domestic sector, startups reflecting the latest market trends were selected, including 'Rocon,' which possesses 3D avatar social network service (SNS) technology; 'Nature Mobility,' which provides AI and big data-based integrated mobility services; 'S&P Lab,' a one-person marketplace platform based on MyData; and 'Pickples,' a smart healthcare O2O solution related to Korean medicine. ESG startups such as 'Eomtech,' which develops construction and civil engineering products using waste plastic and steelmaking by-products, were also selected.

In the global sector, the Shinhan Future's Solution program was newly established, through which five companies were selected to solve various social issues such as digital education gaps, youth job-seeking activities, and health problems in the Vietnamese community platform.

Startups with excellent technological capabilities such as 'TriPass,' which provides a public school management system in Vietnam; 'Aimo,' which automatically processes learning data through AI; 'Flatfarm,' a B2B emoticon solution; 'Overflow,' which provides products and services for the visually impaired; and 'LBS Tech,' a smart city platform related to mobility issues for the disabled, will carry out various projects to solve social problems in the Vietnamese community.

Companies selected for the 7-1th batch will receive various programs such as startup stage-specific nurturing and investment, office space rental, and mentoring through the 'S-Membership' benefits, as well as opportunities to expand their business through collaboration with Shinhan Financial Group affiliates and large corporate partners.

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byeong said, "This year, we will not only support startups with excellent technological capabilities but also help startups' sustainable growth through the ESG nurturing program," adding, "We will continue to build a win-win cooperative ecosystem with startups through Shinhan Future's Lab and become a strong bridge for their development into global unicorns."