SINGAPORE, September 19, 2022 – Rainmaking Innovation APAC (Rainmaking) announced that they have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with South Korea’s second largest bank, Hana Bank, at the bank’s headquarters in Seoul, South Korea to drive opportunities for Singaporean startups entering the South Korean market, and connect South Korean startups with Singapore and other key ASEAN markets.
For Singaporean startups, the South Korean market presents exciting opportunities in leading spaces such as AI, Big Data, Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, as well as being a high-tech consumer market for startups interested in utilising the strong purchasing power and tech-savvy customer base there. The South Korean government is strongly committed to investing in its burgeoning startup ecosystem, with plans to invest US$12 billion over the next four years.
The MOU signals Rainmaking’s and the Bank’s commitment to work together by leveraging their broad networks to support their portfolio companies expanding into both South Korean and overseas markets via:
● Capability development
● Access to shared networks and industry expertise
● Investment and financial support
● Development of strategic partnerships and commercial relationships
Hana Bank is South Korea’s second largest bank with assets of over US$360 billion and the flagship subsidiary of Hana Financial Group.
Rainmaking operates a global network of accelerator programs to support startup and SME market expansion. The two companies will work together to strengthen their partnership by sharing their acceleration and market expansion—scaling and accelerating—expertise, as well as supporting the expansion activities of portfolio companies. Startups entering the Rainmaking Expand: South Korea program will be able to capitalise on the benefits of this collaboration.
Joe Tanner, Chief Commercial Officer, Rainmaking APAC said, “This MOU signals the importance of cross-border collaborations that unlock opportunities and strengthen market entry efforts of startups from both South Korea and Singapore. South Korea is recognised as a powerhouse ‘new economy’ market with a global innovation hub. Their domestic startup sector is maturing quickly and we are seeing more world-class startups and talent developing and entering into this market. By establishing this connection between South Korea and Singapore, with its thriving startup ecosystem and its role as a key ASEAN gateway, Startups from both countries will be able to benefit deeply from this combination of entrepreneurial prowess that this collaboration unleashes.”
He added, “We are delighted to partner with Hana Bank and their 1Q Agile Labs to bring Rainmaking’s entrepreneurial mindset, domain expertise and strong ASEAN network to enable growth and greater access to new customers and investments. It is an exciting time to be in this space.”
Rainmaking was founded in 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark and has since expanded its network to over 35 cities around the world including London, New York, Singapore and Seoul. The company has built, fostered and invested in over 1,000 technology startups to date, and its Startupbootcamp accelerator programs are renowned as one of the best accelerator programs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia; currently rated the most preferred accelerator program for young entrepreneurs.
Hana Bank opened the 1Q Agile Lab, the South Korean banking industry’s first startup accelerator program, in June 2015 in an effort to nurture promising startups and lay the foundations for a strong startup ecosystem based on win-win relations. To date it has launched and grown 156 ventures with innovative technologies in various areas such as AI, big data, security, proptech (property technology) and healthcare, and successfully supported their growth by linking them with affiliates of Hana Bank’s parent company, Hana Financial Group.