Seoul revamps OASIS program to turn expat tech startups into global players

Foreign students pose during an Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System (OASIS) course at the Seoul Global Center. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

When Ravi Pandit Shankar arrived in Korea, navigating the country's dense corporate laws and tax codes felt like an insurmountable hurdle. But after completing a specialized municipal program, his tech startup, Konnect — a "super-app" catering to expatriates — went on to win major domestic startup competitions and secure backing from the prestigious Asan Nanum Foundation.

"Now I want to become a mentor for the aspiring foreign entrepreneurs following behind me," Shankar, an Indian national, said.

Seeking to replicate such successes on a broader scale, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday a major overhaul of its flagship immigrant entrepreneur initiative. Dubbed OASIS 2.0 (Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System), the program is expanding its curriculum to provide a seamless, end-to-end pipeline from initial business conception to legal incorporation, alongside a newly established alumni mentoring network.

The initiative comes as Seoul aggressively positions itself as a global tech incubator, looking to diversify its domestic economy by attracting experts from abroad in artificial intelligence (AI), platforms and health care.

Operated through the Seoul Global Center in Jongno District, OASIS was originally conceived as a foreign entrepreneurship academy in 2009. Jointly designated by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the platform acts as a critical gateway for foreign nationals seeking the points required to obtain a D-8-4 technology startup visa. Since July 2023, the Seoul Global Center has produced 529 graduates, fostering 27 active enterprises and yielding 21 newly incorporated entities.

Under the new 2.0 framework, the center will now offer eight separate specialized courses — the most of any regional center in the country. Key additions include OASIS-4, which delivers practical training on domestic corporate management, accounting and local business culture, and OASIS-6, an invention and startup exhibition launching later this year that will connect founders directly to venture capital and investor relations coaching.

The strategy has already borne fruit.

Recent graduates include Agossou Kazimi of Benin, who launched Acafo, an AI-powered career platform for international specialists, and Nitish Kumar of India, whose company, Mednaath, runs an AI translation platform supporting 60 languages.

"For foreign entrepreneurs, understanding practical business dynamics like local taxation, labor laws, and market conditions is just as vital as having a groundbreaking idea," said Lee Young-mi, the city's director of foreign immigration policy. "We are doubling down on our support so these founders can scale their capabilities directly into viable commercial successes."

Details on application schedules will be posted on the Seoul Foreign Resident Portal and the Seoul Global Center's social media account (@seoulglobalcenter).

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.