Seoul Metropolitan Government to provide a 1.4 billion worth of startup support control tower at India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru… planning to expand to 10 sites by the year 2026

    LOS ANGELES, CA, November 11, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- India, with a population of over 1.4 billion, is known to have a competitive startup ecosystem and is home to India's leading startups where 68 unicorns were founded. Seoul Metropolitan Government's global startup support control tower will start operating starting October in India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, located in Southern India, where leading startups and accelerators are located.

Seoul Startup Hub Bengaluru Acceleration Center (October 2022~)

• (Address) 44, 1st Main Rd, Sarakki Industrial Layout, 3rd Phase, J. P. Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560078 India
• (Size) 36 office desks, 2 meeting rooms, 1 training room, etc.
• (Purpose) Local commercialization for startups entering India, providing proof of concept (PoC) for new technologies, etc.

After establishing its first global growth base in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, the Seoul Metropolitan Government launches 'Seoul Startup Bengaluru' in order to provide assistance to local Korean startups entering the Indian market. Its services include providing proof of concepts (PoC), supporting investment attractions, and more means of support.

India, with a population of over 1.4 billion and home to 68 unicorns, ranks third in the world with the largest startup ecosystem (2022 CB Insights). It is a competitive startup market that many global startup companies would want to enter due to its huge market size and the coexistence of advanced IT skilled and low cost manpower.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has confirmed the infinite potential of the Indian market and has been showing its support on the expansion of local startups in India through The GAIN, a professional local accelerator already operating in Bengaluru, India since 2021. 'Seoul Startup Bengaluru' was realized through the cooperation between Seoul Metropolitan Government and The GAIN after recognizing the significance of both countries' markets.

In the future, the role 'Seoul Startup Bengaluru' will play is to give comprehensive support on the local commercialization of Korean startups advancing to the Indian market. Primarily, five domestic Korean startups will be chosen annually to initially assist its entry to the Indian market wherein expanded support will be given depending on the scale of its substantial results, such as attracting additional investments.

From May of this year, short-term support was provided to five startups from the field of medicine that entered the Indian market through its preliminary pilot operation. Through this, the effectiveness of the center has been measured, resulting to the official opening of the 'Seoul Startup Bengaluru' in October.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently accepting applications to aid five local startup companies who are interested in entering the Indian market through the 'Seoul Startup Bengaluru' until October 21, 2022. Selected firms will be receiving comprehensive support such as securing partnership with local Indian companies and institutions, entry program operation for the local Indian market, and provision of work and office space.

This program targets to provide comprehensive support for five startup companies to advance into the Indian market.
○ Applications can be made through the comprehensive startup information platform, Startup Plus (www.startup-plus.kr). Final selection will be decided through 'The GAIN' and 'Unicorn Incubator' based on different capacities such as the company's knowledge and understanding of the Indian market, BM, and language skills.

Chosen companies will receive comprehensive support such as • aid on developing unique strategies for each company and securing partnerships with local Indian companies and institutions • entry program operation for the local Indian market • free space rental for office and networking space.

Concurrently, a special session on the Indian startup market will be held on September 23, Friday, 17:00 - 18:00 during the three day global start up festival 'Try Everything 2022' by the Seoul Metropolitan Government held from September 21 - September 23, 2022. Topics will include information regarding Indian companies, know-hows upon entering the Indian market, strategies on attracting investments from Indian companies, etc.

Local accelerator 'The GAIN' will be participating in this session hosted by the Seoul Startup Hub to provide information on what Korean companies must know and consider when contemplating entering the Indian market and detailed strategies to attract investors in India. Moreover, a live talk show will also be held with startup companies that have already advanced to India before, including Olive Union, Mediheroes, Dot, and Pyquant.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand and establish 10 global startup centers by 2026 in order to help the city advance within the top five global startup cities in the world and to actively support startup companies on its advancement globally.

To date, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has built and established two global support centers in two foreign cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (May 2021), and Bengaluru, India (October 2022). By the year 2026, it plans to acquire a foothold in 10 overseas strategic market locations.

To this end, the city has provided support for rapid localization by helping establish joint ventures between local startup companies and companies from emerging market bases in Asia and Latin America, technology and distribution cooperation and partnerships from global companies in advanced markets in the United States and Europe. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also plans to implement an advancement strategy to attract global venture capital (VC) investors for cooperation.

Hwang Bo-yeon, head of Seoul Metropolitan Government's Economic Policy Division stated, "The 'Seoul Startup Hub Bengaluru' will become a reliable partner in helping our startup companies successfully advance and have an established foothold in the Indian market." He added, "We will be expanding to 10 locations by 2026 to accelerate the pace of entry for our startups in the global market arena."

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