Government Sponsored ‘Global K-Startup Program’ Taking Applications

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has announced that it would be taking applications for the ‘Global K-Startup Program 2013’ with the goal of creating an ecosystem for internet startups who are looking to international markets. Applications for ideas started yesterday with plans to select 35 teams. Teams of less than 7 people including anyone from students to entrepreneurs can take part.

Last year’s Global K-Startup Program saw 29 teams take part and 23 teams form companies; 18 services were established which achieved a total of 3.1 billion won in investment. The ministry will this year be upgrading the program by putting emphasis on creating an internet startup environment focused on both domestic and overseas markets.

This year’s program will also place importance on services with open platforms that use HTML5, as well as services related to the “Internet of Things”, edutainment, medicine, disaster prevention and convergence. Once the 35 teams are selected, they will receive operating funds of 600,000won per month plus free infrastructure support from companies such as KT and NHN.

Opportunities will also be given for business networking and one-on-one mentoring with investors and developers from communications and portal companies. Companies will also be supported with education related to investor aimed pitching techniques, marketing, UX/UIs and foreign languages, as well as consulting services for legal, financial and intellectual property issues. The top ten teams will also receive from 10 million to 100 million won from a total of 280 million won in entrepreneur support funds.

The program is connected to Google and five teams will also have the chance to travel to Silicon Valley and London to take part in global networking with international investors. These teams will also take part in a three month global acceleration program at the ‘Plug & Play Tech Center’ to help in localization.

A spokesperson for the ministry and program commented saying, “We aim to discover startups and creative individuals that are taking on the challenge of entrepreneurship and targeting the global market from the idea phase.“

Those interested can apply through the website.

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