Woori Financial Group announces on June 4 that it has selected 17 companies as the second group of the startup cooperation program “Digital Innovation Lab.” (Photo: Woori Financial Group)

Woori Financial Group announced on June 10 that it has signed a business agreement with the Seoul Business Agency to support the growth of startups focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and solving urban problems.

Through this business agreement, Woori Financial Group and the Seoul Business Agency will collaborate in promoting the growth of startups by actively discovering ESG and urban problem-solving companies and supporting them with the provision of office space, investment attraction, capacity-building programs and networks.

Woori Financial Group expanded its startup cooperation program Digital Innovation Lab to a joint project for all of its affiliates and established an integrated center in Seongsu-dong, Seoul in 2020.

Seoul Startup Foundation Hub is a professional startup support institution established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

It is run by the Seoul Business Agency. Woori Financial Group plans to generate more synergies in fostering startups along with Seoul Startup Hub Seongsu through Digital Innovation Lab.

“We are really excited to work with the Seoul Business Agency, which has long created social value through startup support,” said an official of Woori Financial Group. “Through this agreement, we will be able to create synergies out of cooperation with startups in various fields including the ESG management sector.”

“We will actively contribute to rev up the impact ecosystem through a strategic business agreement with Woori Financial Group which fosters digital innovation startups with an eye towards solving urban problems,” said an official at the Seoul Business Agency.

Woori Financial Group continues to create visible synergies with startups, including the selection of 18 projects to support and 59.2 billion in direct investments.

Moreover, it has declared 2021 as the first year of ESG management and is spearheading the implementation of ESG management through the fulfillment of financial environmental and social responsibilities.

In March, Woori Financial Group issued 200 billion won in ESG bonds (contingent convertible bonds) with the highest ESG ratings by a credit rating agency for the first time in Korea.

In May, it provided $100,000 in donations to India suffering from the spread of COVID-19 in order to help the virus-stricken nation to better combat the plague.

Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group made an announcement on June 4 that it has selected 17 startups as the second group of its startup support program Digital Innovation Lab.

A total of 274 startups applied for the program this time. Applicants went through in-depth reviews by 14 internal and external experts including those from Woori Financial Group, venture capital and global IT companies.

Woori Financial Group selected the second group in seven areas - e-commerce, fintech, platform, ESG, Prop Tech, blockchain, and data. Prop Tech is the application of information technology and platform economics to real estate markets.

In addition, the financial group plans to create synergies for the era of Big Blur, where the boundaries between digital business startups based on data and technology and those in current industries such as jewelry brokerage, art investment, public library book delivery and automatic legal document production platforms.

The selected companies will receive various support and benefits.

They will be given independent office space, financial IT education by Woori Financial Group IT specialists, educational and training programs by venture capitalists, accountants and professional marketers, investment attraction and commercialization, advancing into Southeast Asia through Digital Innovation Lab Vietnam and business cooperation with Woori Financial Group's subsidiaries.

“In reviewing the startups which applied for the program, we weighed the purposes of the program and the fact that the finally selected startups among them will have to build collaborative models with Woori Financial Group,” said a venture capitalist who participated in the selection of Digital Innovation Lab startups as a judge. “We expect Woori Financial Group to achieve truly open innovation through collaboration with other companies in various fields.”

Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group continues to create visible synergies out of its cooperation with startups.

In May, SCM Solution supported by Digital Innovation Lab and Woori Card also launched a new e-commerce trade receivable collateral loan.