Korea Development Bank to Host Innovation Growth Fair 'NextRise 2021' from Nov 26 to 28

Online and Offline Events Held at COEX

The Korea Development Bank (KDB) headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, which GM headquarters referred to as the 'deadline' for Korea GM's court receivership on the 20th, is showing a quiet appearance. KDB is the second-largest shareholder, holding 17% of Korea GM's shares. However, out of the 10 board members, KDB only holds 3 seats, so it seems difficult to prevent GM headquarters from proceeding with court receivership. Lee Dong-geol, chairman of KDB, stated that if GM headquarters unilaterally places Korea GM under court receivership, they will take legal action such as lawsuits. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] The Korea Development Bank announced on the 6th that it will hold the global startup fair "NextRise 2021" at COEX in Samseong-dong from the 28th to 29th of next month, in collaboration with the Korea International Trade Association.

NextRise is the largest domestic startup fair co-hosted by the Korea Development Bank and the Korea International Trade Association together with the National Research Council of Science & Technology, the Korea Venture Business Association, and the Korea Venture Capital Association. It consists of one-on-one consultations, venture and startup booth exhibitions, and lectures by domestic and international speakers.

The currently recruiting one-on-one consultations are programs designed to support business cooperation and investment attraction between ventures/startups and large, medium-sized enterprises and venture capital firms. In the 2020 consultations, 665 startups held a total of 1,714 consultations with 78 domestic and international large and medium-sized enterprises and 23 venture capital firms. Ventures and startups wishing to participate in consultations can apply through the NextRise website by the 14th.

This year, about 120 domestic and international large and medium-sized enterprises and about 30 venture capital firms are expected to participate in the consultations. A Korea Development Bank official said, "We expect tangible results such as practical business cooperation and investment attraction with ventures and startups."

In particular, this year, about 10 countries with developed startup ecosystems, including the United States, France, and Israel, will newly participate through their embassies in Korea and chambers of commerce. There will also be booth exhibitions by foreign startups and university student startups, as well as startup recruitment briefings.

Meanwhile, considering the COVID-19 situation, strict quarantine measures such as a hybrid online and offline format, electronic registration, and installation of partitions will be implemented to ensure the safety of participants.