Nonprofit organization to provide W345b to stimulate startups, create 11,000 jobs

South Korean nonprofit organization Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs unveiled Wednesday plans to provide 345 billion won ($304.7 million) over three years to local startups to support their growth and job creation. 

Of the total, 320 billion won will go to a new fund of venture capital funds managed by Korea Growth Investment Corp. The volume of subordinate funds will amount to a combined 1.6 trillion won asset for budding Korean startups.

According to KGI’s plan in October, managers of subordinate funds will be chosen by the first quarter of 2019.

From 2014 to 2016, the KGI’s fund-of-funds, called “growth ladder fund,” invested 2.8 trillion won in venture companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, and created 17,440 jobs.

The nonprofit foundation will use the remaining 25 billion won for its new venture capital investment into startups and D.Camp operation.

D.Camp serves as a secretariat of the foundation, which also provides startups with a coworking space located at Gangnam district in southeastern Seoul. Since it was founded in 2012, D.Camp has funded 106 companies with some 10.9 billion won and invested 404.6 billion won in 14 funds.

The investment plan will help create a combined 11,000 new jobs in the startup landscape in a nation with poor jobs data, said Kim Hong-il, managing director of the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs and head of D.Camp.

“Banks’ collaborative efforts to make risk-bearing long-term investments to promote youth entrepreneurship should be highly appreciated,” he said.

The investment comes in addition to the foundation’s asset base of some 500 billion won.

Founded in 2012, the nonprofit organization has drawn investments from 18 banking institutions that are members of the Korea Federation of Banks.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)