The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Chairman Jong-ho Kim, hereinafter referred to as “KIBO”) announced that it held the “Baby Unicorn Global Networking Day” on Tuesday, the 24th, at the IFC The Forum in Yeouido, Seoul to share the overseas expansion performance and global expansion strategies of baby unicorn companies.
The Baby Unicorn Fostering Project is the first stage of the 'Global Unicorn Project' promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Kibo, and is a program that discovers promising venture companies with innovative business models and growth potential and fosters them into potential unicorn companies with a corporate value of KRW 100 billion or more.
The selected baby unicorn companies will be provided with various overseas expansion support programs such as market development funds, special guarantees from Kibo, global IR, global consulting, and support for participation in overseas exhibitions, in addition to financial support. Last year, 27 companies participated in the global IR program in four regions including Silicon Valley, New York, Japan, and Singapore in the U.S., and achieved various results through IR and networking with local investors.
The event was attended by about 50 people, including companies participating in the 2024 Global IR Program, global investment institutions, and executives and employees of companies selected as Baby Unicorns in 2025. Kibo provided a place to seek successful global expansion strategies by providing various programs and networking opportunities, such as ▲ Baby Unicorn Global Program performance announcement ▲ Baby Unicorn companies sharing their global expansion experiences and performance ▲ Global investor panel talk ▲ Global IPO strategy seminar. In addition, three companies that achieved excellent results among the companies participating in the Global IR Program directly presented and shared their vivid experiences from the field.
The first company to present, VS Pharmtech Co., Ltd., is a bio company developing an anticancer radiosensitizer (VS-101). They shared their experience of establishing a foundation for global market entry and investment attraction by signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with nine overseas organizations, including MD Anderson. They also shared their achievement of being selected as a member company of JLABS, the global incubator network of global pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Colosseum Corporation, a global integrated logistics solution company that then took the stage, announced the results of its participation in this IR, signing an MOU with Mirai Consulting Group of Japan and promoting the establishment of a Japanese subsidiary. It said that it has been growing steadily with a sales growth rate of approximately 170% over the past three years, and that it is actively pursuing global expansion, such as establishing a U.S. corporation and expanding local logistics centers, based on its solid domestic performance, such as attracting over KRW 10 billion in investments since being selected as a baby unicorn.
The third company to present, Medisapiens Co., Ltd., is a bio company that develops solutions for analyzing genetic mutations in rare genetic diseases. After being selected as a baby unicorn, it shared its experience of establishing a local joint venture with the Sharp Healthcare hospital group in the United States for the first time in Korea. It recently introduced cases of signing MOUs with Santos Hospital in the Philippines and Xiong He Hospital of Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, and announced that it is achieving results in overseas expansion through global network expansion.
The global investor panel talk that followed was attended by global AC and VCs such as Altara Ventures from Singapore, Gobi Partners from Malaysia, and Do Ventures from Vietnam, who held expert talks and Q&A sessions on the topic of ‘global investment strategies.’ In addition, the global IPO strategy seminar provided practical insights for baby unicorn companies preparing for global IPOs, drawing keen interest from participating companies.
The last part of the event included an introduction of the global support project that Kibo plans to pursue in the second half of the year, and consultations were also held for the newly selected baby unicorn companies this year to help them participate in follow-up projects, ensuring that necessary support could be provided in a timely manner.
Kim Jong-ho, CEO of Kibo, said, “The Baby Unicorn Fostering Program has established itself as a representative global fostering program that helps promising venture companies go beyond domestic scale-up to successfully advance into overseas markets,” adding, “Kibo will continue to strengthen its comprehensive support system for overseas expansion and actively contribute to fostering global unicorns so that baby unicorn companies can make even greater leaps in the global market.”
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