Sejong, September 22 - The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young, MSS) held a ceremony in Seoul on September 13, attended by young entrepreneurs, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME), and other supporting organizations.

The ceremony was organized to pledge the global success of 25 young entrepreneurs participating in the Going-Global Program of the K-Unicorn Academy.

The K-Unicorn Academy's Going-Global Program provides young entrepreneurs who are tenant companies or graduates of the incubating program with an opportunity to enter the global market. The program has been fully operational since 2023.

A recruitment announcement was made in May, and 50 teams were selected after the first evaluation. The selected teams received education and mentoring for their global expansion. Later, based on their performance in education and other factors, 25 teams were finally chosen at the end of August.

The young entrepreneurs will depart for the United States on September 18, Singapore on October 8, and Saudi Arabia on October 17.
* United States (10 teams, 9/18-9/24), Singapore (10 teams, 10/8-10/14), Saudi Arabia (5 teams, 10/17-10/24)

Global VCs will provide mentoring to help young entrepreneurs better understand the global market and raise a chance to attract investments. An Investor Relations (IR) session and a networking opportunity with local businesses will also be held.

KOSME, the organization dedicated to the Youth Startup Academy of South Korea and the private operator of the Youth Startup Academy (AC), will accompany a visit to Saudi Arabia. This visit is of significant interest to Saudi Arabia, as they show great enthusiasm towards the Youth Startup Academy. The Korean side will share the Youth Startup Academy, one of Korea's startup support policies, specifically targeting Saudi Arabian government officials.

LIM Jungwook, Deputy Minister for Startup and Venture Innovation, said, "I hope this event will be an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to get motivated to take off to the global market." He added, "The government will encourage and support young entrepreneurs to pursue opportunities in the global market."

During the pre-event meeting, strategies for promoting young entrepreneurs' entry into overseas markets were discussed while addressing their challenges and suggestions.
 

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Contacts
Rachel Minjo Chun
Spokesperson for Foreign Media
044-204-7104
rachelmchun@korea.kr