9 Pre-Startup Teams Mentored at Gwanak-gu Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch Finalized for Pre-Startup Package

[Seoul District News] 16 Teams Passed Preliminary Document Screening and 9 Finalists Selected Through Business Plan Review and Mock Presentation Using Media Studio... Seongdong-gu Selected for Ministry of Interior and Safety’s ‘2022 Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project’... Yeongdeungpo-gu Builds Metaverse Communication Space ‘Young Town’ for Youth

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) announced that the Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch, located inside Nakseongdae Station, has produced 9 final successful teams for the government support project for prospective entrepreneurs, the ‘Pre-Startup Package.’

Since February, Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch has provided tailored feedback based on business progress and mentoring to revise business direction for prospective entrepreneurs preparing for the Pre-Startup Package, achieving the result of 16 teams passing the first round of document screening in the 2022 Pre-Startup Package.

Subsequently, a mock presentation evaluation was conducted for the prospective entrepreneurs who passed the first document screening, allowing them to prepare in advance for any shortcomings in the second presentation evaluation. Among them, 9 teams were finally selected for the Pre-Startup Package, marking a great achievement.

The 9 teams finally selected this time include 2 teams in the general field, 5 teams in the specialized field, and 2 social ventures. They will receive various benefits from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, including ▲ commercialization funds (up to 100 million KRW) ▲ startup education ▲ management and consulting services ▲ mentoring.

The background of this achievement lies in utilizing the specialized facility of Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch, the media studio, to record and provide presentation videos to prospective entrepreneurs participating in the mock presentation evaluation.

Through this, the cafe plans to continuously support prospective entrepreneurs not only for the presentation evaluation for selection in the Pre-Startup Package project but also for presentation evaluations in other support projects in the future.

Starting June 13 this month, Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch began night operations, changing its operating hours from 10 AM to 6 PM (weekday operation) to 10 AM to 9 PM (weekday operation). This is expected to increase the usage rate of the startup cafe by students and office workers hoping for technology startups.

From July, Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch plans to provide guidance and education on government support projects available for early-stage startups during night hours. The policy focuses on fostering the ability to prepare business plans and presentation materials suitable for each project and creating a positive startup ecosystem within Gwanak-gu.

For more detailed information on various programs and space rentals conducted at Seoul Startup Cafe, individual consultations or reservations can be made by adding ‘Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch KakaoTalk Plus Friend.’

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “We understand that the period when prospective entrepreneurs must decide their business direction is the most confusing time,” and added, “We will continue to actively support prospective entrepreneurs so that they can successfully settle in commercialization.”

Seongdong-gu has been selected for three projects in the ‘2022 Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

In this regard, ‘Making Our Neighborhood Apartment Better and Better,’ ‘Carbon Dieter Training Project,’ and ‘Women Single Household #LivingTogetherInSeongdong’ were selected in fields such as carbon neutrality realization, and the district will promote related projects until the end of this year.

‘Making Our Neighborhood Apartment Better and Better’ plans to promote key projects including the activation of community through public contest projects and support for apartment facility improvement costs, including actively supporting the working environment of essential workers by enacting the first-ever nationwide ordinance last year to support heating and cooling for apartment managers.

Following this, the ‘Carbon Dieter Training Project,’ which promotes education on carbon neutrality and climate change and practices reducing household waste output, and ‘Women Single Household #LivingTogetherInSeongdong,’ which supports home CCTV and store safety emergency bells, will build a safety network for women single households.

The ‘Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Support Project’ is a project promoted to introduce verified regional innovation cases selected through various evaluations and excellent case competitions hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Local governments selected through the contest receive administrative and financial support to root the innovation cases in their regions. This year, Seongdong-gu was selected for three projects, securing a total project budget of 90 million KRW, aiming to improve the daily lives of residents.

Seongdong-gu has made ‘innovation’ the core value of its policies and is the only basic local government among 243 local governments nationwide (17 metropolitan, 226 basic) to win the highest award, the ‘Presidential Award,’ for two consecutive years with life-centered innovative policies through resident communication. It is a recognized innovative autonomous district that has received government commendations for four consecutive years since 2018.

Additionally, last year, as a leading group in resident life innovation, it expanded the ‘Seongdong-type Smart Shelter’ and ‘Seongdong-type Smart Security Light’ projects nationwide.

?

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Over the past eight years, Seongdong-gu has discovered various life-centered policies that residents can feel and expanded them nationwide,” adding, “If the lives of Seongdong residents improve even a little, we will quickly adopt excellent cases from other local governments and create a better Seongdong and a Seongdong of a different class through innovation desired by residents in the 8th term of the local government.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has attracted attention by newly launching a metaverse platform for youth called ‘Young Town.’

‘Young Town’ is a combination of ‘Yeong’ from Yeongdeungpo, ‘Young’ meaning youth, and ‘Town’ from the metaverse platform Gather Town, created so that young people can meet, unite, and communicate in a virtual space without location restrictions.

The district planned this to activate a new communication space using the metaverse, which is gaining attention as a new industry field, to raise interest in district administration and support youth employment and entrepreneurship.

On the 16th, an opening ceremony was held with about 100 young participants, marking the start of Young Town’s operation.

The event held in the metaverse virtual space included ▲ watching a video on enjoying Young Town ▲ a financial technology special lecture by YouTuber Kim Jjanbu, who has 470,000 subscribers ▲ DIY card wallet making ▲ online cart racing, treasure hunting events ▲ and a chat room for K-youth.

Participants met various people through avatars, shared their concerns and experiences, and freely communicated by exchanging information and know-how related to employment.

The district is exploring various ways to actively use Young Town as a space to effectively promote youth policies and, furthermore, as a channel for youth participation in district administration.

On the 30th, the launch ceremony for mentors and mentees of the ongoing employment and entrepreneurship mentoring service ‘Young Connectors’ will be held in the Young Town metaverse, and a Youth Day event is also scheduled for September.

Young Town is available to anyone under 39 years old and can be accessed without a separate registration application through the banner link at the bottom of the Yeongdeungpo-gu youth online platform starting from the 21st.

Mayor Chae Hyun-il of Yeongdeungpo-gu said, “We built the metaverse platform to communicate broadly with young people accustomed to non-face-to-face and digital culture,” adding, “We will actively support the promotion of various youth policies and programs and strengthen youth employment and entrepreneurship capabilities using Young Town.”