10 startups picked for KB Starters program

The logo of KB Innovation HUB / Courtesy of KB Financial Group

By Lee Min-hyung

KB Financial Group has picked 10 promising startups as winners for KB Starters ― a program aimed at providing support for small, innovative firms here to make inroads into the global market, the company said Wednesday.

Under the program, the selected companies will be able to visit KB's fintech lab in Singapore and receive consulting services for their global expansion.

KB named a list of 10 Korean firms in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), health care and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). They include H2O Hospitality, a hotel management solution provider, and SentBe, a money transfer service operator.

Considering local startups' growing desire for overseas expansion, KB widened the number of Starters winners this year. Last year, KB selected four startups for the program.

KB Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file

KB conducted document screening and face-to-face interviews with candidates between June 1 and 20. After taking into consideration various factors ― such as their growth potential and overseas market understanding ― KB announced the 10 startups.

The participating startups will be also able to receive investment-related consulting services by partnering with KB's financial affiliates in Southeast Asia. The startups will also be educated by Tenity, a Singapore-based startup incubator, for their proper localization, according to KB.

“We decided to design the KB Starters Singapore program, so as for local startups to engage in more exchanges in overseas markets,” a spokesman at KB Financial Group said. “KB will keep supporting them, so they can grow to become unicorn companies.”