“Vibrant Startup Cooperation Triggered by Presidential Visit to Finland”
A group of startup entrepreneurs, accelerators and investors has joined South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Finland 11th ~ 13th of June for the first time in history.
118 startups attended for this visit including Kim Bong-Jin Chairman of Korea Start-up Forum, Lim Jung-Wook CEO of Start-up Alliance Center, Ahn Sung-Woo CEO of Zigbang (Real Estate Platform), Lee Soo-Jin CEO of Yanolja (Hotel Booking Service Platform), Seo Kyung-Mi CEO of Linkshops (B2B Clothing Wholesale Service Platform), Kim Jae-Seung CEO of Mobiltech (Real time 3D Space Scanner), Son Bo-Mi CEO of Qara Soft(Robo Adviser), Yoo Bum-Ryeong CEO of Mobidays (Mobile Marketing Platform), Song Myeong-Kun CEO of Olive Union (Hearing Aid), Im Yoo-Bong the CEO of Plasmapp ( Medical Pasma Sterilizer) etc.
Korea — Finland Startup Summit 2019 ,organized by the Korea Startup Forum (KSF, CEO Kim Bong Jin) together with Altoes (CEO Timo Luukkola), is a large-scale event (about 400 participants) that brings together startup ecosystem stakeholders in two countries including startups, VCs, and accelerators in the presence of the two heads of state.
Also Korean startup delegations explored mutually beneficial business opportunities through signing of MOUs, Innovative Growth Forum, Kor-Fin University Student Hackathon, Startup Showcase, Networking Luncheon, Startup Joint IR, and Startup Fair.
At the Innovative Growth Forum, President Moon Jae In outlined Korea’s startup ecosystem, highlighted Korea’s five strengths including technology and startup boom, and stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation for fostering unicorn startups.
* ①High technological competitiveness, ②National startup boom, ③Regulation sandbox, ④Cooperation with large companies, ⑤Policy support
This was followed by a presentation on open innovation that turned the failure of Finnish giant Nokia into success (speaker/Risto Siilasmaai, Chair of the Nokia Board of Directors) and a presentation on innovative growth story of a Korean startup (Speaker/Byun Sung-Hyun, CEO of Speclipse).
(Showcase) The Showcase was held in Foyer Hall on the 2.5th floor, Congress Hall on the 1.5th floor and Sirukus Hall on the 0th floor with participated 48 startups (AI, Autonomous Mobility, Biohealth, etc.) from both countries. Open Innovation Zone (1.5th floor), large companies, was participated by internal corporate ventures and spinoff startups of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors, and Humax.
(Hei-Annyeong IR) The name of the event is derived from the greetings each pronounced in the Finnish and Korean languages. The event consisted of two parts: (i) “Intro Pitch” that centered on introducing the startup environment of both countries and seeking cooperative measures; and (ii) “Casual Pitch” that focused on broadening business exchange opportunities through presentations on the services & technologies of Korean and Finnish startups.
VCs and buyers of counterpart countries underwent written evaluations and selected 20 teams who were given the opportunity to showcase their growth potential and attract investments during the Casual Pitch. Given the promising digital startup ecosystem in Korea and Finland, participating Korean startups were related to 5G, AI, bio, VR, and O2O platform fields, and Finnish startups were involved in 5G, AI, data security, bio, and health fields.
Minister Park Young-Sun of MSS said this event will be the cornerstone for promoting exchange with Finnish startups and strengthening concrete cooperation for sustainable growth of the economy, adding that the Ministry will host regular events for startup exchange between Korea and Finland to ensure that the startups in both countries hoping to enter the other market can benefit from promotion, investment, and partnership opportunities.
