KB Financial Group said on April 24 it signed an agreement with the Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation on April 23 to support startups and revitalise the ecosystem.
The agreement was designed to strengthen a startup support system based on public-private cooperation, drawing on the two organisations’ capabilities and networks for nurturing startups. Lee Young-geun (이영근), CEO of the Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, and Lee Chang-kwon (이창권), head of the Future Strategy Division at KB Financial Group, attended the signing ceremony.
KB Financial has expanded funding for innovative startups and strengthened its financial role in supporting the growth of early-stage companies. Yang Jong-hee (양종희), chairman of KB Financial Group, emphasised last year at the 2025 HUB Day the creation of an environment where startups can focus on business and technology development through tailored funding by growth stage.
KB Financial has selected and nurtured 394 startups as KB Starters since 2015. That produced cumulative investment of 308.9 billion won and 422 partnerships.
Under the agreement, the two sides plan to pursue cooperation including discovering promising companies in future growth industries such as AI, ESG and fintech, linking them to government support programmes, providing mentoring and consulting, and operating joint incubation spaces.
A KB Financial official said the agreement would help strengthen the growth base for promising startups and serve as an opportunity to connect public and private support capabilities. The official said it would continue to realise productive finance by supporting the startup ecosystem.
