The Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting the creation of the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’ worth a total of 5 trillion won( $4.22 billion) for over four years (2023-2026) to enable startups to grow into innovative companies. This specialized fund will invest intensively in six areas: scale-up, startup support, digital transformation, first step companion, cultural content, and Seoul Bio, and it is the largest among government funds at the local level.
The Seoul Vision 2030 Fund will strategically support follow-up investments so Korean companies can preoccupy the global market with continuous support for promising industries in the future. The goal is to support innovative companies and prevent their growth from being hampered by funding constraints.
The fund comprised 1.4 trillion won ($1.18 billion) in the Scale-up Fund in Scale-up Fund for over 4 years, 250 billion won ($211 million) in the First Step Companion Fund, 1 trillion won ($845 million) in the Digital Conversion Fund, 1 trillion won ($845 million) in the Entrepreneurship Support Fund, 750 billion won ($634 million) in the Seoul Bio Fund, and a Cultural Contents Fund. The goal is to raise 600 billion won ($507 million).
The city of Seoul plans to secure a budget of 350 billion won ($296 million) over four years and raise a total of 5 trillion won ($4.22 billion) by linking the government fund and private investment funds. A new ‘First Step Companion Fund’ will be established to invest in early-stage startups that the private investment market has overlooked. It is responsible for the follow-up scale-up of startups that have entered the growth stage in the company’s growth cycle and the initial investment of startups in the early stage of entrepreneurship.
The scale-up/startup support fund invests 10 billion won in scale-up (open innovation field) and 4 billion won in startup support (re-leap field). After going through a final face-to-face screening at the end of June, it is done. Announcement of investment in funds by sector, such as cultural content, bio, and digital conversion, will also be made sequentially in June.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “Starting this year, Seoul City will create a 5 trillion won Seoul Vision 2030 Fund to expand investment in promising innovative technologies such as AI, bio, fintech, and content. To support quick startup investment, the Seoul Startup Hub Scale-up Center, the first startup investment facility in Seoul, has been established.” He said, “We will provide diverse support so that Seoul can create future food sources for Seoul as a growth plate that enhances its global competitiveness and enhance its global and industrial competitiveness.”
The Seoul Vision 2030 Fund Investment Project details can be found on the Seoul Metropolitan Government websiteand theSeoul Economic Promotion Agency website.
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