Gieun Opens 독 'IBK Changgong Europe Desk'... Second Overseas Base

On the 8th (local time), Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) announced on the 10th that it has established the 'IBK ChangGong Europe Desk' in the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe Research Institute located in Saarland, Germany, within the Korea-EU cooperation building. This is the second overseas base of IBK ChangGong following the opening of the ‘IBK ChangGong Silicon Valley Desk’ last September.

The Europe Desk is expected to serve as a foothold for innovative startups aiming to enter the European market. The plaque unveiling ceremony held on the 8th was attended by Kim In-tae, Head of IBK Innovation Finance Group; J?rgen Barke, Deputy Minister-President of Saarland, Germany; Thomas Schuck, CEO of Saarland Economic Promotion Corporation; and Kim Soo-hyun, Director of KIST Europe Research Institute.

In June last year, IBK signed a business agreement with the Saarland government and KIST to support the successful entry and local commercialization of domestic innovative startups in Europe. The bank promised to provide services such as consulting for establishing local subsidiaries of European-entering companies, participation in Saarland support programs, and connection to local networks. Group Head Kim stated, “Following the Silicon Valley Desk, we are diversifying efforts to support domestic startups’ overseas expansion with the Europe Desk,” adding, “We will not cease our efforts to help innovative startups go global.”

Meanwhile, IBK is conducting the ‘IBK ChangGong Europe Accelerating Program’ to ensure the successful overseas expansion of innovative startups. The companies selected for the third cohort this year are currently participating in programs such as investor relations (IR) and open innovation events in Germany, customized technology commercialization and market development, and global networking.