Kotra tells start-ups to enter European market
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) advised local start-ups to enter the European
market, stressing that it provides more opportunities for funding and growth. The report comes in time
with President Moon Jae-in’s nine-day tour of the continent, which started Saturday. According to the
trade promotion agency, Europe offers a favorable environment for start-ups to do business, especially
in terms of funding and regulations. Last year, Europe’s investment into start-ups increased by 84
percent year-on-year to 19.17 billion euros ($22.2 billion), according to data from Ernst & Young.
Cities in Europe spotlighted as favorable spaces for start-ups include London, Berlin and Paris.
“Korean start-ups have not yet actively tackled Europe,” Kotra said in statement. “But Europe is a
promising market for the firms to grow in.” Data from Kotra says 61.6 percent of Korean start-ups with
overseas business have operations in Northeast Asia, 29.7 percent in Southeast Asia and only 10.1
percent in Europe. As European governments and companies have been increasing cooperation with
non-European start-ups to secure the latest digital technologies, especially in the area of artificial
intelligence (AI), Internet of Things, robotics, cybersecurity and fintech, Kotra advised Korean tech
start-ups to find chances to cooperate with European accelerators.
According to Kotra, seven Korean fintech start-ups have already moved into the office space of London’s
fintech hub Level39 to boost collaboration. A Korean start-up that developed AI-based business
platforms was also selected by incubating program goAustria, which is run by the Austrian
government. Attracting investment from venture capital programs operated by European conglomerates
could be another way to enter Europe, Kotra says, as conglomerates become increasingly
interested in fostering start-ups themselves. On Monday, Kotra opened up a Korea-France Start-up
Summit in Paris jointly with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Small & Medium Business
Corporation and Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development in its effort to beef
up cooperation between Korean and European start-ups.