The beginning of a business is always a crucial time, and when enterprising entrepreneurs and startups begin their business journey with an idea, they need a lot of support. The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) is a Korean agency that supports budding startups right from the beginning.
What is KISED?
KISED was launched in 2008 as a business incubator foundation, which eventually has grown into an autonomous public institute supporting entrepreneurship and startups in South Korea. The institute provides various help to entrepreneurs through means of mentoring, networking, and organizing events.
KISED’s main aim is to contribute to the development of the Korean economy through the growth of startups and promote technology, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship.
The organization’s primary tasks are:
1) To discover pre-entrepreneurs
2) Entrepreneurship Education
3) Provide fund, Human Resources, marketing support to aspiring startups
4) Conduct Research & surveys for forming policies for startups
5) Support for global expansion
KISED’s role in Korean Startup Ecosystem
KISED is dedicated to the development and growth of entrepreneurship in Korea, and startups are of the main focus of the organization.
Startup Education: KISED has various Education programs for entrepreneurs and startup founders like Youth Bizcool, Online Entrepreneurship Education, Maker Culture Diffusion program, Practical Entrepreneur Education, and University Entrepreneur Center.
Facilities & Space: KISED also offers facilities and space to startups through its 17 Centers of Creative Economy or CCE across the country. KISED also has other facilities and spaces that are available for entrepreneurs and startups that can act as a gateway to procuring fundings and networking. Maker Space Founding Program, Startup Park, Pan-gyo Startup Zone, One-Man Creative Company Support, and Technology-Based startup Senior, are part of KISED’s program.
Mentoring: KISED offers Online Mentoring through the mentoring platform –Ideamaru and Offline Mentoring through professionals for selected promising ideas.
Startup Commercialization Program: KISED provides early incubation programs and financing support to startups. It offers about One hundred million won ($82 million) to startups. It has programs like
Pre-Startup package, Early-Stage startup package, Startup scale-up package, Tech Incubation Program for Startups (TIPS), Re-Challenge Startup Package, Service voucher for startups, Nurturing program for corporate ventures, and Global Acceleration Program.
Events & Networking: KISED organizes its annual event – K-Startup Week ComeUp Challenge aimed at promoting Korean startups. It has various programs attended by many leading companies, investors, venture capitalists, mentors from different countries. K-Startup Week ComeUp is an important event for startups to network and market their innovative technologies.
KISED also organizes Innovative startup league, where startups compete for a prize incentive. Besides, KISED also supports startups to reach global platforms and prestigious events like SLUSH in Helinski, Finland, RISE in HongKong, etc. KISED is an important organization for Korean startups, and its support has been helping the entrepreneurs thrive in the country and globally.
