“NextRise 2022, Seoul,” one of the largest global startup fairs in Korea, was held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, for two days from June 16 to 17, hosted by Korea Development Bank and the Korea International Trade Association.
This event, which marks its 4th anniversary this year, is jointly hosted by Korea Development Bank and Trade Association and the National Science and Technology Research Association, Venture Business Association, and Korea Venture Capital Association. The event comprised booth exhibitions, conferences, business cooperation, and investment meetings.
This year more than 310 startups had a booth, a record number of startups participated, as well as domestic and foreign conglomerates such as Hyundai Motor, LG, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as unicorn companies such as Zigbang and Ridi, as well as members of various venture ecosystems participated. About 1,000 domestic and foreign startups, 175 large and medium-sized companies, and investors participated in one-on-one consultations prepared for business cooperation and investment attraction.
Conference, meet ups & networking
The NextRise conference included startup trends, overseas expansion, etc. and a separate recruitment briefing session was held. Representative domestic unicorn companies such as Toss, Zigbang, Today’s House, Brandi, and Ruid, as well as the founders of Southeast Asian unicorns such as Carousell and Ruangguru took the stage and delivered their insights to the audience.
In addition, the Global Business Expansion Contest, a pitching contest for startups wishing to advance overseas, was held as ‘KDB Next Round’ and ‘KDB Next One’ demo days. Vice Chairman Lee Kwan-seop of the Korea International Trade Association said, “If we don’t lead innovation more actively, we can make the mistake of missing out on bigger opportunities for fear of small risks. We will do our best to ensure that Nextrise can serve as a catalyst for innovation in the Korean economy.”
On the 16th, the Korea International Trade Association, Seoul Industry Promotion Agency (SBA), London Heritage Development Company (LLDC), and Catapult of the UK signed an MOU to promote a smart city test bed in the UK. They agreed to cooperate with ten startups to support local demonstrations in the UK, dispatch a startup delegation, and hold a local roadshow.
On the 17th, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, President of the Korea Trade Association Koo Ja-yeol, Korea Development Bank Chairman Kang Seok-hoon, and Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young visited the venue and had a meeting with 10 startups.
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