The Korean government has created an accelerator for startups from around the world, in a bid to diversify the country’s tech industry, TechCrunch reported. Called the K-Startup Grand Challenge, the programme is being organised by South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP), in partnership with Seoul-based accelerators SparkLabs, DEV Korea, ActnerLab, and Shift. It will accept applications through 14 June.
Forty startups will be selected to participate in the three-month long programme, which begins in September and includes mentoring from 15 leading Korean tech companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Kakao, and Naver. A demo day will take place in December, after which twenty startups will receive USD 33,000 in funding from the government, with the top four getting an additional USD 6,000-100,000. All companies will work out of the Pangyo Global Startup Campus, which was opened earlier this year by the government as part of a new startup hub.
The programme is accepting applications from companies in all industries with growth potential, but it is particularly focused on gaming, finance, bio-tech, software, and information and communication tech.
The government had pledged USD 2 billion per year since 2013 to the local startup ecosystem. This is its first commitment to international startups. The government plans to make K-Startup Grand Challenge an annual programme.
