On November 21, POSCO held the 12th Idea Marketplace at the World Marine Center in Gwangyang, with approximately 150 participants. The conference announced ten venture companies that had been fostered by POSCO.
The Idea Marketplace (IMP) is POSCO’s representative venture start-up support program which connects venture companies with investors, or attracts direct investments by helping prospective venture businesses and investors build a network and compare with other compelling venture ideas.
POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon gives a speech at the 12th Idea Marketplace, addressing economic improvements through partnerships with local industries and fostering the growth of promising venture companies.
In a welcoming speech, POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon said, “The most obvious way to drive future growth in our slowing economic environment is to discover innovative ideas and commercialize them. I will actively support the creation of jobs that are combined with the local economy of Gwangyang city.”
POSCO selected and nurtured ten venture companies in their support program this year. Their fields ranged from medical, the internet of things (IoT), music to big data. They were verified by outside experts for their business feasibility and received mentoring in company briefing sessions for ten weeks.
During the IMP, an IR event was held for investors, and a prototype exhibition hall took place alongside. The event involved representatives of venture companies engaging in one-on-one Q&A sessions with members from the judging committee.
POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon, center, talks to guests at the Idea Marketplace venue. From right, Weonpyo Sun (president of the Yeosu and Gwangyang Port Authority), Hyunbok Jeong (mayor of Gwangyang) and Seongho Park (director of the POSCO Creative Economy Promotion Team).
In this Idea Marketplace event, the Excellence Prize went to Futures Bio Works (CEO Woosoon Chang), for its development of a shape memory polymer microneedle vascular anastomosis device. The company Algorigo (CEO Gilhwan Cha) took home the Excellent Start-up Prize for building a smart posture tracker platform that helps people to develop healthy sitting habits.
Since 2011, POSCO has selected and fostered 132 companies, 59 of which have received direct investments of approximately KRW 9.2 billion from POSCO. The amount of foreign investments the growing companies has attracted reached 59.4 billion won, which contributed to the creation of jobs for 572 people.
Prospective business founders or venture companies that want to take part in the POSCO Idea Marketplace can apply for the program at any time via its website: http://www.poscoventure.co.kr.
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