Attn Global Startups: S. Korea's K-Startup Grand Challenge 2020 Accepting Applications till June 25th

For global entrepreneurs and startups who want to explore business opportunities in South Korea and expand business in Asia, the Korean government’s ace program K-Startup Grand Challenge is an assured gateway. The program, supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), is now accepting applications for the program till June 25th, 2020.  

The program is an all expenses paid and the first of its kind in Asia with grand prizes for top five teams. The best winning team gets $120,000 and further assistance to develop business in South Korea. 

About K-Startup Grand Challenge

K-Startup Grand Challenge is a startup accelerator program conducted and financed by the Korean government. The program is an initiative to support foreign startups that want to enter the Korean market and further explore the international markets. The program has been promoting Korea as the global leading startup business hub since 2016. 

The selected startup teams get many benefits with the 3-month program from networking opportunities, learning from experts, financial support to business development.  Importantly, the selected startups can look forward to a promising future in Asia, considering the convenient geographical location of the country and its strategically beneficial relationships with other countries in the sub-continent. 

In 2019, the program had received applications from 1,677 teams from 95 countries. Thirty-eight teams from Europe, Asia, and America had been selected for the accelerating program. Out of that 20 teams were selected on final demo day, and they received further follow–up support from January to April 2020.

In 2020, there is scope for 60 talented and innovative startup teams to be part of the enriching program. 

The Selection Process and the 2020 KSGC Program

The application and promotion of the K-Startup Grand Challenge 2020 have started with the last date for submitting applications being June 25th, 2020. An expert panel of judges will be reviewing the applications, and the global selection process will start in early July 2020. 

Sixty selected teams will participate in the accelerating program from September 1st, 2020, to November 30th, 2020. The top 30 will attend the demo day from November 19th to 21, 2020, and get further support for business development from January to April 2021.

Who can apply?

• Startups that are less than 7 years old or pre-entrepreneur whose representative holds a foreign nationality or is an -overseas Korean (foreign compatriot). 


• Promising startups with a clear objective to expand into Asia by using the Korean market as a stepping stone. 


• Startups with interests in Artificial Intelligence, Big-Data, Cloud computing, Networking, IoT, Robotics, Auto Tech, VR/AR/MR, Smart city, Health, Semiconductor, Green, 3D printing, Block chain, Fintech, Information Security, e-commerce, O2O, Logistics, Media, etc. are encouraged to apply.

Jugnoo Selected for K-Startup Grand Challenge at South Korea

Jugnoo, India’s leading hyperlocal startup, is all set to create its footprints in the South Korean market. The B2B offering of the company, Tookan has been selected as one of the top three finalists to participate in K-Startup Grand Challenge - a 4 month accelerator programme, organised by the Korean government.  Jugnoo is selected from the 70 Indian Startups that auditioned for the challenge becoming 1 of the top 3 finalists making it a big achievement for the team.

Tookan is a SaaS based platform that pioneers in end-to-end field force management solutions. It is a unique off-the-shelf product and offers a marketplace of customisable apps, that gives its clients the luxury of managing the fleet workforce efficiently.

Samar Singla, CEO and founder of Jugnoo commented, “Given the explosive growth and vast prospects in the SaaS industry, the judges seemed fairly impressed by Tookan’s current global presence and our plans for further expansion. We are looking forward to make the most out of the opportunity we’ve been offered.”

Tookan can be used by any company providing services to the customers, and requires proper IT infrastructure. As majority of the Korean population are smartphone users and the government has set up internet facilities across the country, Korea exhibits huge potential.

Being the global leaders in the on-demand technology and having powered more than 800 companies in around 100 countries already, Tookan, will benefit from the  K-Startup Grand Challenge through a smooth entry into the Korean market.

First Batch of K-Start Companies, Active Intelligence and AffordPlan, Raise Series-A Funding

Kstart, a seed initiative by Kalaari Capital, announced that two of their portfolio companies – Active Intelligence and AffordPlan – have raised Series-A funding from IDG and Prime Ventures respectively. Kalaari Capital also participated in both funding rounds.

AffordPlan is an alternative finance platform that enables healthcare affordability through planned savings. Hospitals and patients can co-design flexi payment plans so that patients can obtain medical treatment and products through a manageable payment structure developed based on individual need and cash flow. Founded by Tejbir Singh (CEO) and Hemal Bhatt (COO), AffordPlan looks to address a large problem that affects a sizable chunk of the Indian population.

Active Intelligence is an AI service platform for financial services. The platform is designed to automate customer interactions, using insights powered by algorithms. Co-founded by Ravi Shankar, Shankar Narayanan and Parikshit Paspulati, the Active AI team’s expertise enables the platform to be deeply connected to a financials platform via APIs or messaging interfaces, thereby automating customer service at a lower cost.

Speaking about the companies, Kalaari Capital MD Vani Kola says “AffordPlan started with a massive problem that they identified, one that is underserved and unmet today. They then brought together deep domain expertise to understand the nuances of the problem, and creating a solution for it. They did all of that in a structured but condensed time period.” Speaking about Active Intelligence, she continues, “They have a very impressive team. They come from many years of significant management experience in the banking industry, a deep network of relationships, and a lot of domain understanding”

These are the first companies to graduate from the Kstart seed initiative to the Kalaari portfolio.

“The biggest advantage we have from a Kalaari standpoint when we work with Kstart companies, is the previously unavailable ability to observe these companies at very close quarters – the way they challenge each other as a team, the way they solve problems, the way they define and refine their strategy”, says Bala Srinivasa, Partner at Kalaari Capital. “This makes it a lot easier when they come to us for Series-A funding. Having seen them through their journey so far, we have great conviction in being able to back them.”

Muthiah Venkateswaran, Partner at Kstart adds, “Both companies have displayed incredible resilience and focus on the end game. As a startup, it is easy to get swept up in the hundreds of things you can do, and lose sight of what you need to do. Both Active Intelligence and AffordPlan have stayed focused on what they needed to do to scale and succeed, and the Kstart team is excited to watch them grow.”

The company founders expressed excitement, adding that the Kstart program played an important role in supporting and preparing them for the leap to Series-A. Says Tejbir Singh of AffordPlan, “Kstart has been a wonderful experience, with a mix of great people and invaluable advice. We feel like we had the best of both worlds – the early-stage ecosystem and guidance of Kstart, and the mature environment and mentorship of Kalaari. It has been a rich experience.”
Ravi Shankar of Active Intelligence concurs, “We were one of the first companies to enter Kstart, and it has been a fascinating ride. We had the benefit of having Bala from Kalaari be on our board from the very beginning, and have had several in-depth interactions with other senior members of Kalaari, including Vani [Kola]. Both Kstart and Kalaari are constantly enabling us to be a successful company in a competitive market.”

Active Intelligence raised $3 million in a joint round with IDG Ventures and Kalaari Capital, while AffordPlan raised $3 million in a joint round with Prime Ventures and Kalaari Capital.

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