Startup Support Events Scheduled One After Another in July and August
Plans for Direct Investment Beyond Providing Space and Consulting
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[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Banks are consecutively holding startup investment and support events. They are aiming to discover future growth companies by supporting direct investment and the opening of financial data.
According to the financial sector on the 8th, Woori Bank is conducting the "10th Public Offering for Investment Target Companies to Support SME Growth" until the 19th. After screening stages such as technology and business feasibility evaluations, 10 companies will be selected by the end of this year and directly invested in through methods such as Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stocks (RCPS) within a range of up to 1 billion KRW per company. This goes beyond simply providing space and various management consulting services, aiming to directly invest equity in companies with potential.
The interest in startups did not stop there. Earlier this month, Woori Bank decided to participate in the Financial Services Commission-affiliated Korea Fintech Support Center's 2022 ‘D-Testbed’ project. Through this, they plan to provide startups with the financial data necessary for promoting new businesses.
Previously, in May last year, Woori Bank had already established the financial community ‘Financial Data Dam’ for joint research on financial trends. It mainly deals with simplifying the pseudonymization process for data collection, storage, and distribution, as well as research and development and sharing activities. This year, with the addition of KT, a company from a different industry, it is explained that richer data provision has become possible. Additionally, last month, the ‘Dino Lab’ 3rd cohort, a startup support program operated at the Woori Financial Group level, was selected and held an inauguration ceremony.
Shinhan Bank is also recruiting for the ‘Shinhan Futures Lab 8th Bank Plus’ to discover startups in the financial sector. The selection process began at the end of last month, and the final results will be announced on the 19th of this month. Selected companies will collaborate with Shinhan Bank in areas such as ▲life finance content and services within the Shinhan financial application (app) ‘SOL’ ▲linked content within metaverse platforms ▲advanced abnormal behavior analysis and data anonymization ▲blockchain-linked digital asset financial services ▲pet commerce and healthcare ▲proptech (real estate + IT) asset recommendation services. Some projects are expected to move beyond collaboration to joint commercialization.
SC First Bank held the ‘SC First Bank Startup Demo Day’ event at the end of last month, introducing solutions from outstanding startups. They also plan to sequentially introduce solutions with high applicability to banking operations into actual bank work. Furthermore, for outstanding startups, they plan to promote overseas expansion to SC Group’s countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as direct and indirect capital investment and joint venture establishment.
A banking industry official explained, “Traditionally, banks have consistently supported and invested in startups,” adding, “Especially in the current situation where voices for deregulation in the financial sector, such as the separation of finance and industry, are growing, they seem to be putting more effort into discovering ‘raw gems.’”
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