Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center Supports Promising Startups' Overseas Expansion

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jin-Hyung Park] Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (Center Director Sang-Yong Ha, hereinafter Gwangju Innovation Center) supported the overseas expansion and foreign investment attraction of promising startups in the Gwangju area on the 8th (Korean time).

In addition, to strengthen connections with overseas investment institutions, a business agreement ceremony was held with KSWAN VENTURES, a US local corporation investment company.

Along with this, an IR session was held for four promising startups (Cloudstone Co., Ltd., Intflow Co., Ltd., Vinsen Co., Ltd., NetOn Co., Ltd.) to introduce them to overseas investors.

The main contents of this business agreement include discovering promising startups aiming for global growth in the region and supporting their overseas expansion, cooperating on investment programs for attracting foreign investment, and forming a cooperative network in line with AI-related 4th industrial technologies, among various methods to collaborate for overseas expansion.

KSWAN VENTURES is a global investment company located in Silicon Valley, USA, creating global IT technology innovations, focusing investments on early-stage startups not only in Korea but also in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

By establishing a unique investment and exit virtuous cycle structure, it enhances the organic growth potential of companies through two-track nurturing (domestic and global) of leading early-stage startups at home and abroad.

The Gwangju Innovation Center, in addition to this business agreement, signed a business agreement last November with the Korea International Trade Association Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters to support global expansion.

They are identifying the needs of promising local startups struggling with overseas expansion amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation and preparing various ways to assist their overseas expansion.

In this way, the Gwangju Innovation Center is actively promoting programs to discover and nurture promising startups and expand the local entrepreneurial base. To foster promising startups, they have supported prototype production through the Pre-Startup Package, Excellent Startup Company Intensive Support Project, and G-IN Startup JUMP, and conducted the G-IN Startup Academy (Startup School) and Rookie Startup Camp (Startup Camp) for the general public and university students who dream and hope to start a business.

They are also playing a central role in spreading and expanding the local investment culture by establishing a private investment association.

Center Director Sang-Yong Ha said, “Through this business agreement, we have created a ray of light for overseas expansion. The Gwangju Innovation Center will always strive not only to plan and research policies at the institutional level but also to understand the needs from the startups’ perspective and prepare support measures.”