Jeollanam-do, Startups Innovative Growth Supporting Speed

- Plug and Play Business Agreement and Support Agency Council for Formation and Operation -

[Director of SMEs and Venture Business Division, Oh Soo-mi 286-3700, Venture Startup Support Team Leader, Kim Ji-in 286-3770]

(Attach two pictures about startup innovation and growth.)

Jeollanam-do is accelerating its support for local startups' overseas market entry. Last January, the province followed up on its business agreement with Plug and Play, the world's largest startup accelerator, by forming a council with relevant organizations and support agencies.

Jeollanam-do made a remarkable debut at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA, by operating the Jeonnam Pavilion for the first time. The pavilion highlighted 11 promising local companies, attracting significant attention from international visitors and buyers. This participation demonstrated the growing capabilities of Jeollanam-do's businesses to confidently venture into the global market. It also highlighted the critical importance of supporting local companies' international expansion to ensure the province's economic sustainability and secure future growth opportunities.

Jeollanam-do and Plug and Play, a global innovation platform, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to especially strengthen cooperation in supporting the global expansion and innovation of local companies.

Plug and Play is a global startup accelerator and investment firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Founded in 2006, Plug and Play has helped over 2,500 startups and 30 unicorns (privately held companies valued at over $1 billion) achieve success. Some of the notable companies that have been through Plug and Play's programs include PayPal, Google, and Dropbox.

Following its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Plug and Play, Jeollanam-do established a support agency consortium in January, comprising provincial departments like the Small and Medium Venture Business Division, Basic Industry, Research Bio Industry, and key organizations like Jeonnam Technopark, Jeonnam Bioindustry Agency, and Jeollanam-do Environmental Industries Promotion Institute, to actively support local startups' global expansion through tailored services.

The plan is to increase the success rate of global market entry for startups with high growth potential by providing global accelerating support that links 'founded → global expansion' through an organic collaborative network between institutions and a database of promising companies that is constantly built up based on institutions.

Plug and Play empowers startups for global success through an acceleration (Nursery) program offering mindset training, one-on-one company diagnosis and mentoring, overseas investor relations (IR) pitching support, listing in the proprietary global startup database (PLAYBOOK), and sharing of information with investment companies. Additionally, they leverage their vast network of 50+ global branches to specifically aid Jeollanam-do companies in entering the international market.

Wi Kwang-hwan, Director of the Jeollanam-do Job Investment Promotion Bureau, said, "This is a great opportunity for Jeollanam-do's innovative growth companies to expand overseas." He added, "We will expand our competitiveness-strengthening program so that many companies in Jeollanam-do can enter the global market."