South Korea's Small and Medium Business Corp. said Sunday that it will open a global innovation growth center in Seattle to better help promising companies make inroads in the world's largest market.
The public organization said the goal is to actively help growth of local unicorn startup companies that currently have valuations of 1 trillion won ($889.3 million) or more. Unicorn companies refer to very rare successful startups that have made a splash in their respective fields, such as Uber and Airbnb.
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(SBC) |
SBC said it has secured some 3.2 billion won in funds from the 2019 government budget to push forward the project. The corporation offers non-financial programs, such as marketing assistance, consulting and training for venture business start-ups, as well as providing business loans for research and development, business expansions, and local industry development programs.
It said besides Seattle, Beijing and New Delhi are being examined for the setting up of future innovation growth centers.
"The center will support venture capital tie-ups, mergers and acquisition, cooperative arrangements with foreign partners, as well as exchange in expert personnel," the public corporation said.
It said by forging a cooperative channel, SBC aims to provide stepping stone for local unicorn firms striving to expand their operations on the global arena. (Yonhap)
