African startups have been offered another opportunity to scale to South Korea with the opening of the Seoul Global Startup Centre, which will offer incubation service to foreign startups.
Hot on the heels of the K-Startup Grand Challenge, the Global Startup Centre will offer a favourable environment for non-Korean entrepreneurs to launch in South Korea, with office space, paid expenses and support programmes.
Applications are now open until July 29 for the first six-month incubation period, which runs from August to December, with applicants not requiring a business plan, incorporation, or a relevant visa to apply.
“The Seoul Global Startup Centre would like to see a great community of people with lots of global participation. In other words, we want the centre to be a place where ideas can transition from other parts of the world to Seoul,” said manager Landon Miller.
“Foreigners have a unique perspective on what is missing in Korea, but need specialized help to make it happen.”
The centre will select 40 companies for the incubation program, with successful applicants receiving office space, expenses, business development workshops, peer mentoring, in-house expert liaisons and an all-expenses-paid two-week trip to China or Vietnam.
The top 12 entrepreneurs in the programme will receive funding and the opportunity to participate in global exhibitions and events. However, participants will be expected to “give back” by participating in the overall environment of the centre, with those that do not participate asked to leave early.
“We want a centre where people get that help not only from our programme, but from the community of entrepreneurs inside the program,” said Miller.
