The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has completed recruiting limited partners for a Gangwon regional mother fund that will focus investment in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province and will move into full-scale operations. A mother fund pools capital to invest in daughter funds, and the daughter funds invest in corporations directly.
The ministry said on the 23rd that it will hold a launch ceremony for the "Gangwon strategic industry venture fund" at Chuncheon Sky Convention.
This year's regional mother funds, promoted to revitalize regional venture investment, will be raised in Gangwon, North Gyeongsang, Busan, and South Chungcheong with a total size of 400 billion won.
This "Gangwon strategic industry venture fund" is the third mother fund to be formed, following South Chungcheong and Busan. With 60 billion won supplied as seed money and seven basic local governments—Gangwon-do and Chuncheon, Wonju, Gangneung, Taebaek, Samcheok, Hongcheon, Hoengseong—along with NongHyup Bank participating as limited partners, it was formed as a large mother fund totaling 105.6 billion won.
The mother fund plans to invest in corporations in Gangwon and in the seven major future industries: semiconductors, bio, hydrogen energy, future mobility, food tech, advanced defense industry, and climate tech.
The operating committee will finalize the investment areas in September, and starting in October it will begin daughter fund commitments to create a 150 billion won venture fund that focuses on Gangwon.
Lim Jeong-uk, director general for Startup and Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Gangwon is the hub of the nation's tourism and leisure industry and a region with growth potential in advanced strategic industries," adding, "Through this 'Gangwon strategic industry venture fund,' we will support Gangwon's seven major future industries and ventures and startups so they can gain ample growth opportunities and take a step up."