Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province to Operate 129.4 Billion-Won Regional Growth Fund

[Financial News, Daegu/Andong = Reporter Kim Jang-uk] Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province will establish a Regional Growth Fund with the local community and continue to expand the investment base so that businesses do not miss opportunities to grow because of a lack of funding.
Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province held a formation ceremony for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Regional Growth Fund at EXCO on the afternoon of the 21st and began full-scale operations.
In particular, the formation was joined by Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC), financial institutions including iM Bank, IBK and NH NongHyup Bank, and major contributing institutions and investors such as Isu Petasys and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST). Together, they pledged to give the venture investment ecosystem in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region a fresh boost.
Mayor Choo Kyung-ho stressed, “A new investment base has been established to foster future growth engines in Daegu and Gyeongbuk and enable local startups founded by young entrepreneurs and deep-tech companies to grow,” and added, “The city will continue to expand its investment base so that innovative local companies do not miss opportunities to grow because of a lack of funding.”
“In a country like ours, which lacks natural resources, it is ultimately important to create an environment where talented people can freely start businesses,” Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, adding emphatically, “Using funds from the central and local governments as seed money, we will build a success story of a virtuous cycle in which businesses are launched, receive investment and grow in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.”
The Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Regional Growth Fund will be established with a total size of 129.4 billion won, using 75 billion won from the Fund of Funds as seed money. Investors will include local governments (Daegu City, Gyeongbuk Province, Gumi City and Gimcheon City), financial institutions (iM Bank, IBK, NH NongHyup Bank and Hana Bank), companies (Isu Petasys, Korea OSG and Hwashin), and universities (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and Kyungpook National University).
In particular, the fund is a large-scale fund formed through “ultra-regional cooperation” and is expected to bring fresh energy to the startup and venture ecosystem in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region as a practical model of economic cooperation between the two local governments.
The city plans to design sub-funds so that at least 80% of the total amount raised is required to be invested in companies in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, and to establish an investment support system tailored to each stage of growth for startups and venture companies.
It also plans to focus investment on technology startups based on the region’s strong research and development (R&D) capabilities, including those at universities and government-funded research institutes such as Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, as well as promising companies in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region’s growth industries, including robotics and mobility, healthcare and biotechnology, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing.
Meanwhile, at the event that day, iM Bank, Korea Venture Investment Corp. and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation also signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the venture ecosystem in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region.
[email protected] Kim Jang-uk Reporter