Asan Nanum Foundation Startup Support Center... Expanded Support Scale Compared to Existing Maru180
Expecting Synergy with Tipstown and Others
172, Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Here, final preparations are underway for the opening of Asan Nanum Foundation’s startup support center, ‘Maru360.’ Once Maru360 opens, the Asan Nanum Foundation expects to expand startup support up to three times the scale of ‘Maru180,’ located nearby at 180 Yeoksam-ro. With the opening of Maru360, Yeoksam-ro, where Maru180, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and Korea Angel Investment Association’s ‘TIPS Town,’ Gangnam-gu Office’s Gangnam Startup Center, and POSCO’s ‘Change-up Ground’ are gathered, is expected to become the mecca of startup incubation in Korea.
According to the startup industry on the 28th, the startup support center Maru360 is expected to begin full-scale operations from next month. Most of the startup selections for residency this month have been completed, and residency is expected to be finalized around mid-next month. The industry expects about 30 startups, venture capital (VC) firms, accelerators, and other startup-related companies and institutions to move into Maru360, and overseas VCs are also expected to establish domestic offices here.
Maru360 is gaining attention because it enables support at a scale three times that of Maru180, which has achieved remarkable results in the startup ecosystem. Since opening in April 2014, Maru180 has provided comprehensive startup solutions such as office space, networking, investment, and education to early entrepreneurs and startups, supporting a total of 237 startups over seven years. The average investment amount raised during their residency, based on long-term residents, reached approximately 2.1 billion KRW. The number of employees also increased by about twofold. Moreover, to broaden the base of the startup ecosystem, various programs have been conducted, attracting up to one million visitors to Maru180 to date.
Synergy is also expected as Yeoksam-ro, where Maru360 is located, is being developed as an entrepreneur street. On this street, in addition to Maru360 and Maru180, there are four TIPS Towns operated by MSS, the fifth TIPS Town managed by Gangnam-gu, and Change-up Ground, a public-private partnership TIPS Town jointly operated by POSCO and MSS. The TIPS program involves private operators making pre-investments in startup teams, with MSS providing linked support for research and development (R&D), commercialization funds, and overseas expansion funds. In total, six TIPS Towns, along with Maru180 and Maru360, are located along the same street. Gangnam-gu has also named this area ‘Start Track’ and plans to develop it into Korea’s Silicon Valley. A representative from the Asan Nanum Foundation said, “We will provide wholehearted support so that startups experiencing Maru can challenge themselves and grow here.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
