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| Representatives of the companies selected for KB Financial Group's KB Starters program pose in this photo released by the banking group, Thursday. Courtesy of KB Financial Group |
By Yi Whan-woo
KB Financial Group is bolstering efforts to support startups in line with the country's plan to nurture the next growth engines.
The banking group announced on Thursday that it picked 25 firms from those who applied for the KB Starters program, which is aimed at discovering promising startups and offering them tailor-made support for their respective growth strategies.
The program runs in the first and latter half of every year.
The 25 startups were chosen after a screening process that was conducted by executives of KB Financial Group's affiliates and also in cooperation with the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, which operates under the wing of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
The areas of focus for the selected firms vary from artificial intelligence (AI) to mobility, renewable energy, health care and proptech _ the use of information technology in dealing with sales, purchasing and the management of real estate.
KB Financial Group will work with each company to develop financial services in relation to their respective field.
For instance, it will capitalize on the expertise of Wrtn Technologies, a firm that specializes in AI, to introduce a new digital banking service.
It also will work on an innovative model for pet insurance with iamdt, a platform operator for animal health care.
"We are fully committed to supporting innovative companies and will continue to come up with a range of supports, such as investment, commercialization, expansion of business networks and help the startups to grow," KB Financial Group said.
It highlighted that support for startups is based on Chairman and CEO Yoon Jong-kyoo's management philosophy, which values joint prosperity with clients and society.
Launched in 2015, the KB Starters program marks the first initiative in the finance industry that is tasked with nurturing startups. A total of 227 businesses, including the latest 25 companies, have been offered support so far.
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