After seven consecutive years of organization, attracting more than 10,000 Startups from 151 countries to participate, with 1,25 billion USD invested, The Korean Government’s K-Startup Grand Challenge program affirms its position as a gateway to help potential Startups conquer the Asian market.

Korea – New Startup hub in Asia

Korea is the 15th largest domestic market in the world with a scale of 736,21 million USD. LTE covers 100% of the Korean territory. The country has not only a favorable geographical position when located in East Asia, next to mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan but also an active and well-designed Startup ecosystem, attracting investors, accelerators, and incubators worldwide.

The Korean Government is making firm commitments to support the Startup ecosystem with an investment of up to 10 trillion won (estimated 8,7 billion USD). There are currently about 40 Startup accelerators in Korea that provide capital to entrepreneurs in various fields. With such an environment, Korea is becoming the hottest Startup hub in Asia.

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K-Startup Grand Challenge 2022 – The golden gate to Asia

Intending to become the leading Startup Center in the region and the world, the Korean Government has organized K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC) since 2016 to support foreign Startups who want to expand into the Asian market by using the Korean market as a stepping stone. Over the years, the program has had more than 10,000 applications from 151 countries worldwide, and the total investment is more than 1,5 billion USD. In 2022, the Korea IT Cooperation Center in Hanoi (KICC), which is a representative office of  the National IT of Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), continues to be the unit responsible for implementing the K-Startup Grand Challenge 2022 (KSGC 2022) in Vietnam and Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, East Timor.

From April 15th, 2022, the KSGC 2022 program will begin to receive applications through https://www.k-startupgc.org/ until the end of May 31st, 2022.

June 7th – 10th, 2022 is the time to review the application.

June 20th – 24th, 2022 will take place the Global Audition.

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June 30th, 2022, the best 60 teams worldwide will participate in the accelerator program in Pangyo Technology Valley, Korea, which will officially begin from August 1st to November 15th, 2022 (3.5 months).

The Top 60 Startups will receive support funding up to 11,136 USD/team and present products to investors at the investment fair. After that, the Top 30 Startups will participate in the establishment support program in Korea, which will last for another 3.5 months (with funding up to 11,136 USD/team). On the other hand, the Top 10 Startups will receive financial support totaling up to 320,000 USD.

More than just a competition, KSGC 2022 is a door for Startups to expand to foreign markets, connect with leading corporate and VCs in Asia and to validate their business model.

Who can register to participate?

Startups less than seven years old or Pre-entrepreneur whose representative holds a foreign nationality other than Korea.

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Projects and Startups from all fields, including AI, Blockchain, 5G, Big Data, and E-commerce, have the potential to expand their business to the Asian market by using the Korean market as a stepping stone.