Supporting 34 promising, ICT-related startups in IoT, games, and Fintech industries
The Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (“Gyeonggi Innovation Center”) is located on the fifth floor of the Public Support Center in Pangyo Techno Valley. It houses many independent offices, including IoT labs and 3D printing rooms, and is the kind of place where business startups flourish.
The Center is currently supporting 34 startups, which is above the national average, as 17 innovation centers nationwide are cultivating a total of 530 startups as of November this year. All of these businesses are promising, ICT-related startups or small- and medium-sized enterprises that are making good use of local support institutions, such those in Pangyo Techno Valley. By sector, they include 11 IoT firms, eight game companies, three Fintech businesses, and 12 other types of enterprises, and each of them was selected through public contests or periodic recruitment initiatives.
Some of these young startups have already achieved tangible outcomes. In particular, IRIENCE announced that it has launched an iris recognition-based financial settlement service. As a result, this company has been selected to join a startup incubating program operated by KIC (Korea Innovation Center) Silicon Valley in the United States, where it will work for eight weeks toward establishing a global network and developing a localization strategy for entering the US market.
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Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation |
Focus on support for startups entering global markets and attracting investment The Gyeonggi Innovation Center is committed to playing the role of a hub for domestic startups and small and medium sized enterprises seeking to enter global markets. Based on the creation of a network of overseas startup support agencies, investors, and global businesses, G-Alliance was inaugurated. This organization will assist the firms incubated by the 17 innovation centers, including the Gyeonggi Innovation Center, with overseas market exploration and investment attraction. Also, MOUs were signed with three accelerators, including Orange Fab of France, and three venture capital firms, including Formation 8 of the United States. Thanks to such overseas expansion efforts, on November 2, Li Keqiang Chang, the Chinese premier, visited the Gyeonggi Innovation Center to hold talks with major startups from all across the nation and gain first-hand experience with their new technologies.
Also, the Center is encouraging domestic game startups to visit Gamescom of Germany, one of the world’s top three trade fairs for video games, and participate in overseas exhibitions, such as Demo Day of Orange Fab. More recently, the Center supported five startups participating in the “K-Teck Silicon Valley 2015” export meeting held in the United States’ Silicon Valley. The event specializes in training participants to make successful pitches.
The Gyeonggi Innovation Center is also assisting firms by providing a variety of extensive support, including: initial working capital, mentoring for financing and legal affairs, professional seminars such as the Fintech forum, regular education for startups to nurture entrepreneurship, offers of free office space, and access to 3D printing rooms and IoT labs.
Lim Deok-Rae, CEO and General Manager of the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, said, “We will focus on helping entrepreneurs get through the first one to three years of business operation by assisting them with setting up marketing channels, going overseas, and attracting investment.”
By Hwang Jeong-seop(
jshwang@heraldcorp.com)
