41 Seoul Youth Teams Start Startup Activities... Seoul City Supports Top Teams with 70 Million KRW

Non-face-to-face Agreement Ceremony and OT Held on the 6th... Support for Initial Business Expenses, Startup Education, and Expert Consulting for 6 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 5th that it will begin activities for the 3rd cohort of ‘Next Local,’ a program that supports startup teams developing business models that can coexist with local communities based on startup ideas from various regions nationwide, with up to 70 million KRW in project funding.

Now in its third year, Next Local is a project that discovers ‘Seoul young entrepreneurs (aged 19-39)’ with startup ideas linked to regions across the country, and supports teams whose business models have been verified through regional resource investigation and commercialization stages by providing project funding.

At the end of July, 41 teams comprising 75 Seoul youths, who were finally selected at the business item competition, will utilize regional resources and receive cooperation from local experts in 11 regions including Gangneung in Gangwon, Goseong in Gyeongnam, and Mokpo in Jeonnam over the next six months to verify the feasibility of their startup ideas and develop them into commercial ventures.

The 41 teams and 75 members selected for commercialization this time are recognized for the novelty and feasibility of their startup ideas and will receive startup support funds from Seoul City. For the 3rd cohort of Next Local teams, common education, expert mentoring, and customized startup coaching for each team will be provided over the remaining six months to help develop and complete their business models.

Meanwhile, Seoul City will hold a non-face-to-face agreement ceremony on the 6th with the 75 youths from the 41 teams selected in the Next Local 3rd cohort business item competition.

Kim Kwang-deok, Director of Urban Agriculture, said, “We expect Seoul’s youth to discover various possibilities by linking and utilizing local resources, and that the execution of innovative ideas will lead to new vitality in the regional economy,” adding, “Next Local will be actively supported to closely connect the future of youth and regions and grow into a startup model.”