Final Selected Participants of 'Seoul Startup Cafe Startup Challenge' to Receive Full Support Throughout the Startup Process

From the 22nd, Package Support from Discovering Prospective Entrepreneurs to Nurturing and Growth Centered on 11 Startup Cafes

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 16th that it will hold the '1st Seoul Startup Cafe Startup Challenge,' a nurturing program for prospective entrepreneurs, at 11 branches of the 'Seoul Startup Cafe,' a startup information exchange space used by 130,000 prospective entrepreneurs over the past three years.

The '1st Seoul Startup Cafe Startup Challenge,' conducted to spread the startup culture that has been subdued due to COVID-19 and to increase startup success rates, will hold preliminary rounds at each startup cafe. The final selected prospective entrepreneurs will receive growth packages such as investment attraction and global expansion support.

While the startup cafes have so far focused on expanding the connection points with startups and playing a foundational role by facilitating startup information exchange between prospective entrepreneurs and the general public, from this year, the function will be expanded to help them grow from the pre-startup stage (Pre-BI) to the actual startup execution stage (BI), such as starting a business and moving into startup support facilities, thereby increasing startup success rates.

The '1st Seoul Startup Cafe Startup Challenge' will proceed in three stages: ▲ discovering and nurturing prospective entrepreneurs at each branch ▲ selecting excellent teams over two months and refining their items through expert consulting ▲ final selection of excellent teams and moving into startup support facilities. Each Seoul Startup Cafe branch will discover promising prospective entrepreneurs with less than one year of startup experience and strengthen their startup capabilities through its own program for three months, followed by a first-round pitching competition as the branch preliminary round.

The selected prospective entrepreneurs will receive intensive nurturing from professional accelerators for two months. The finals will be held at Try Everything in September this year, where each participant will present their startup items to investors and accelerators. The final selected prospective entrepreneurs will be given the opportunity to move into Seoul's startup support facilities and participate in customized nurturing programs.

Park Dae-woo, Director of Economic and Job Planning at Seoul City, said, "As the economic recession caused by COVID-19 prolongs, it has become difficult for promising prospective entrepreneurs to easily attempt startups," adding, "We look forward to the challenges of prospective entrepreneurs with good ideas so that the Seoul Startup Cafe Startup Challenge can prevent the contraction of the startup ecosystem and provide an opportunity for prospective entrepreneurs to grow one step further."