Jungjingong and Shinhan Financial Collaborate to Jointly Foster Startups Entering Japan

Korean Startup and Japanese Market Partnership Agreement for Entry and Growth

The Small and Medium Business Corporation (Chairman Kim Hak-do, hereinafter referred to as SBC) announced on the 5th that it has signed a 'Business Agreement for the Entry and Growth of Korean Startups in the Japanese Market' with Shinhan Financial Group. This agreement was promoted to proactively respond to the increasing demand for domestic startups to enter Japan following the improvement of Korea-Japan relations and the acceleration of economic cooperation after the Korea-Japan summit.

Both organizations agreed to join forces to establish a public-private cooperation system for the local entry and scale-up of domestic startups in Japan, fostering startups entering Japan together and expanding exchanges between Korean and Japanese startups. Taking this agreement as an opportunity, the two organizations will launch a project from this month to discover and jointly nurture promising startups wishing to enter the Japanese market through cooperation between the public and private sectors. To this end, SBC will support localization diagnosis and product/service improvement for startups using the Tokyo Global Business Center, while Shinhan Financial Group will provide a global value-up program, investment review, and local investor networking through Shinhan Futures Lab Japan.

In the future, collaboration between SBC's Global Business Center (GBC), Korea Startup Center (KSC), and Shinhan Financial Group's Shinhan Futures Lab will be expanded to countries other than Japan. Ahn Jeong-gon, Head of SBC's Global Growth Division, said, "With the activation of the local venture market following the Japanese government's startup promotion policy that began in earnest last year, good opportunities are opening up for Korean startups," adding, "We will actively utilize SBC's know-how in supporting the localization of small and venture companies in Japan to support the successful entry of our startups into Japan."