"Find Innovative Companies"... Kibo Announces Recruitment for the 16th Kibo Venture Camp

Application Period Open Until the 13th of Next Month

The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Kibo) announced on the 24th that it is recruiting companies to participate in the "16th Kibo Venture Camp" to foster innovative startup companies.

Technology Guarantee Fund Headquarters. Provided by Kibo

The Kibo Venture Camp is a program designed to discover and nurture innovative startups through collaboration with private accelerators, based on Kibo's accumulated experience in supporting technology startups, in line with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Domestic Startup Ecosystem Activation Policy." The application period is until the 13th of next month.

The recruitment targets are innovative startups or prospective entrepreneurs within three years of establishment as of the announcement date. Approximately 75 companies will be selected through a first-round document screening and a second-round presentation evaluation. In addition to the general selection, various companies will be discovered through special tracks such as ▲regional balance ▲ESG ▲New Growth 4.0 ▲pre-startup special track, contributing to regional balanced development and social value creation.

Selected companies in the Kibo Venture Camp will receive various programs including consulting for establishing customized growth strategies, mentoring linked with experts in various fields such as successful entrepreneurs, investment attraction opportunities, and networking with private venture capital (VC). All programs are completely free of charge. In particular, companies selected through the ESG track will have the opportunity to participate in the "Net Zero Challenge X Project" of the 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee.

Additionally, Kibo plans to systematically support innovative startups until they achieve successful establishment by providing a package of financial services such as guarantees and investments, along with non-financial services including research and development (R&D) support and technology transfer to companies that complete the Venture Camp.

Lee Sang-chang, Director of Kibo, said, "Companies participating in the Kibo Venture Camp will receive support such as customized guarantees at each commercialization stage and recommendations for investment target companies. Outstanding participating companies can receive guarantee support of up to 1.5 billion KRW and investments through a conditional equity purchase agreement (SAFE) worth 500 million KRW." He added, "Kibo will continue to actively promote various support policies to help startups with innovative technologies leap forward as future unicorn companies."