“We have set challenging KPIs to go beyond acceleration and achieve actual contract closings.”
Kim Hye-kyung, Team Leader of Scale-up Team 1 at the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), made this statement at the ‘2026 Seoul Startup Hub Integrated Briefing’ held on the 19th, conveying that this year’s global expansion support programs are focused on delivering tangible results. At the event, SBA’s global support initiatives were introduced alongside open innovation programs and hub residency programs for each startup hub location, including Gongdeok, Magok, and Changdong.
First-round applications for programs covering 13 countries across 10 programs — including Germany/Switzerland, India, Singapore/Indonesia, Vietnam, the UAE, China, Japan, Thailand/Myanmar, France, and Denmark — are currently open until April 7th. A second round of applications for the remaining country programs is planned for May.
The integrated briefing was organized to present the key programs operating across Seoul’s startup hubs in a single venue, and to provide companies with the information they need according to each stage of their growth.
Team Leader Kim noted, “Existing SBA global programs have been concentrated on early-stage market entry — local market research, market fit identification, and sessions and meetings with local accelerators — with KPIs centered on quantitative indicators such as the number of participating companies or number of meetings held. Starting this year, restructuring that framework is the core priority.” A key feature of this shift is a significant expansion of PoC (Proof of Concept) programs with a stronger emphasis on scale-up, along with the introduction of a new scale-up track encompassing customer channel development and opportunities for investor consultation and fundraising.
In particular, partner organizations have been assigned a challenging KPI of securing at least one commercial contract — going beyond simply signing an NDA. Only institutions that submitted proposals demonstrating their ability to meet this target were selected as partners. In addition, starting this year, SBA has launched a new initiative to support overseas companies entering Seoul alongside its existing support for Seoul startups expanding abroad, further strengthening its two-way global connectivity function.
This year’s SBA global expansion programs plan to support a minimum of 100 companies, with funding made available for practical expansion costs such as local living expenses and personnel hiring. Target countries for the accelerating programs include Denmark, Japan, the United States, Singapore, Thailand, and Portugal. Japan will be carried out in conjunction with SusHi Tech, and Portugal with Web Summit, both in an exhibition format. A joint program with Stripe — a three-year partnership — will be launched for the first time this year, and collaborations with global accelerators such as CIC and 500 Global are also scheduled.
The event also introduced the distinct global program features and residency programs of each Seoul Startup Hub location, including Gongdeok, Seongsu, Magok, and Changdong.
