JFDI in pact with South Korean youth entrepreneur foundation

• Partnership to connect and accelerate startup talent from north to south Asia
• Will share networks and know-how to support startups venturing out from home

JOYFUL Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) and South Korea’s Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs have announced a strategic partnership that they said would boost the skills of first-time entrepreneurs across language and cultural barriers.
 
The partnership would also help established startup companies from South Korea and Singapore expand beyond their home markets across the Asia Pacific region, JFDI said in a statement.
 
The partnership will allow startups who are members of either JFDI’s Innovation Campus in Singapore, or the Banks Foundation D.Camp working space in Seoul to work free of charge in either space, giving them a foothold in both the north and south of Asia.
 
The organisations will share networks and know-how to support startups venturing out from home and co-develop a multilingual joint education programme to get first-time entrepreneurs ready for the international market from the get-go, JFDI said.
 
“I believe there will be a huge synergy as both organisations are leaders in Asia’s startup ecosystem,” said Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs managing director Naree Lee.
 
“We will put our utmost effort into supporting Korean startups entering a South-East Asia market that grows more competitive day by day,” she added.
 
The Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs was established by 20 members of the Korea Federation of Banks in May 2012 with the aim of helping to address youth unemployment in the country.
 
It offers both financial support, including guarantees and investment, as well as non-financial support such as office space, mentoring programmes, and financial and marketing education.
 
JFDI has operated across Asia Pacific since 2011 when it supported Startup Weekend events in six cities across the region, involving hundreds of startup teams. Its accelerator programme always includes participants from a wide pool of Asia countries, the company said.
 
This new partnership begins to establish permanent representation across the region and builds on JFDI’s positive experience helping a group of 10 Korean entrepreneurial teams to ‘go global’ last year, it added.
 
“Korean startups are capable and aggressive in their passion to go global,” said JFDI cofounder and chief executive officer Hugh Mason.
 
“This partnership is an important first step that helps to build a regional ecosystem in Asia that learns from the collaborative spirit of Silicon Valley,” he added.
 
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