Fund launched Thursday at Daejeon Startup Park; linked to Ministry of SMEs and Startups' parent fund at 54.3 billion won to energize regional investment ecosystem
Daejeon has established a fund worth tens of billions of won to invest in early-stage startups and strategic industries in the region.
The city held a launch ceremony for the "Daejeon D-Growth Fund" at Daejeon Startup Park on Thursday, marking the start of full-scale operations aimed at expanding investment in promising local ventures and startups to energize the regional investment ecosystem.
About 100 people attended the event, including Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong, officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Korea Venture Investment Corp., representatives of financial institutions and local companies that contributed capital, investment firms, and local startup and venture company officials.
The fund was created after Daejeon was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Regional Growth Fund" program, which aims to spread venture investment — currently concentrated in the greater Seoul area — to other regions and revitalize local investment ecosystems.
Using a 35 billion won ($25.8 million) parent fund contribution as seed capital, the city drew in investments from local institutions and companies including KAIST, Hana Bank, NH Nonghyup, Industrial Bank of Korea, Haengbok Energy and GN Soft, assembling a total fund of 54.3 billion won.
Working with Korea Venture Investment Corp., which will manage the fund, the city plans to channel Daejeon's strong research-and-development and technology-startup base — anchored by KAIST and other universities and government-funded research institutes — into actual investments, while broadening investment opportunities for early-stage companies to help them build a stable foundation for growth.
The fund will focus particularly on startups and venture companies with strong technology capabilities in Daejeon's strategic industries: defense (robotics and drones), semiconductors, biotech, AI and quantum technology.
To that end, the city plans to establish sub-funds totaling more than 78 billion won, targeting four areas — early-stage startups, startup-city specialization, strategic industries and secondary investments — and will seek participation from Greater Seoul-area venture capital firms as well as local accelerators and VC firms to expand the pool of investment capital available to regional companies.
Beyond simply growing the fund's size, the city also plans to work closely with Korea Venture Investment Corp. and sub-fund managers to continuously monitor fund operations and the investment status of local companies, and to strengthen cooperation with regional investors to ensure the fund translates into tangible investment outcomes for local businesses.
In January, the city established the 204.8 billion won "Daejeon D-Leap Fund" to support scale-up and follow-on investment for growth-stage companies. The launch of the D-Growth Fund extends that support to early-stage startups as well.
By linking the two funds, the city aims to provide a stable supply of investment capital across every stage of a company's development — from early startup through growth and leap-forward phases — building an investment foundation that supports the full growth cycle of local businesses.
An investor relations session held alongside the launch ceremony gave promising local companies the opportunity to present their technology and growth potential to investors, creating new touchpoints between regional businesses and the investment community and laying the groundwork for actual deals.
"We will actively connect government and private resources so that outstanding local technologies and companies do not miss growth opportunities due to a lack of funding," Mayor Heo said. "We will ensure the Daejeon D-Growth Fund drives corporate growth and revitalizes regional investment, and that this growth feeds back into job creation and a more vibrant local economy in a virtuous cycle."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
