D.Camp expands investment program to include foreign entrepreneurs

Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, also known as D.Camp, is expanding its investment program to include foreigners starting their own businesses in Korea, it said Thursday.

Participants in D.Camp's first Meet Korea program, a networking program for foreign entrepreneurs in Korea, listen to a session led by Eugene Kim, managing partner at start-up accelerator SparkLabs, on Thursday at D.Camp Startup Lounge in Busan. [D.CAMP]

BUSAN — Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, also known as D.Camp, is expanding its investment program to include foreigners starting their own businesses in Korea, it said Thursday.

D.Camp is a non-profit start-up support organization funded by 19 banks. It plans to inject as much as 300 million won ($210,000) in start-ups operated by foreigners in the form of equity investment. To selected start-ups, additional perks like a free workspace in Seoul for at least six months and professional mentoring will also be provided.

The start-ups to be considered for investment will be selected through D.Camp’s own version of demo day called D.Day, where start-ups pitch their ideas in front of venture capitalists and investors to attract investments.

While the non-profit organization has operated numerous support programs for Korean-operated start-ups, this is the first time for it to officially invite non-Korean entrepreneurs for its programs.

Applications for foreign entrepreneurs to join D.Day opened Thursday, the same day that it started its Meet Korea program, a networking program for foreigners interested in starting their own business in Korea or those who have already established their businesses here.

During the Meet Korea program held at D.Camp Startup Lounge in Busan, the non-profit introduced how to apply for and benefit from its start-up support programs. It also invited professionals from one of largest accelerators in Asia, SparkLabs, law firm D’Light, and start-up visa consultancy Global Start-up Immigration Center to give foreigners information on how to navigate through legal issues like visas and taxation.

Some 20 foreigners participated in the event Thursday, all of whom are either already business owners in Korea or are preparing to launch a business.

Gulmira Yussupova, a 26-year-old woman from Kazakhstan who established a Korean skin care product exporter named Search Seoul in Korea, far left, participates in a one-on-one consulting program with experts during the Meet Korea program by D.Camp on Thursday. [D.CAMP]

Satyabrata Aich, a 39-year-old man from India who founded Wellmatix, a South Gyeongsang-based start-up that specializes in artificial intelligence and the metaverse, said he plans to apply for the D.Day program by D.Camp, saying, “The opportunities are very limited for foreigners because often investors think foreigners might one day go back to their own country.”

According to Aich, he always had to present in Korean to try to attract investments before because there were not many programs dedicated to foreigners. On Thursday, however, all of the programs were in English.

For those trying to start a business in Korea, the networking program Thursday was an opportunity to learn.

Daniel Kim, co-founder of Ignitabull Digital Growth, which offers consulting for people wanting to start a business in the United States, said while the headquarters is currently in the United States he would like to launch a Korean branch as he sees market potential here.

“The goal for us [attending the networking event] was to identify what we were missing, because, basically, we don’t know what we don’t know,” he said.

Two more Meet Korea programs are scheduled by the end of this year. One will be held in October in Singapore and another in November in Japan. Those programs will target foreign entrepreneurs who would like to enter the Korean market.

“Our goal this year is to reach out to a larger pool of entrepreneurs,” said Jang Shin-hi, head of the communications team at D.Camp. “After having meet-up programs with foreign entrepreneurs this year, we plan to design more detailed programs to support them in the coming year.”

While D.Camp celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, it has made an accumulated 19.9 billion won worth of equity investments into 152 start-ups as of May this year. It also supports start-ups through indirect investments by creating funds.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]