Kibo and Hana Bank Join Forces to Support the Growth of Youth Startups

Supply of Agreement Guarantees Worth 100 Billion Won

On August 24, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Kibo) announced that it had signed a “Y-Bridge Guarantee Financial Support Business Agreement to Support the Leap Forward of Youth Enterprises” with Hana Bank.

This agreement aims to alleviate the initial funding burdens faced by youth-founded startups and to bolster their competitiveness and promote technological entrepreneurship through tailored financial support at each stage of growth.

From right to left, Kwon Hyung-taek, Chairman of the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Lee Ho-sung, President of Hana Bank, and Kang Seung-jun, Chairman of the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, are posing for a commemorative photo at the business agreement ceremony. Photo by Korea Technology Finance Corporation

Under the agreement, Kibo plans to provide a total of 100 billion won in agreement guarantees, funded by Hana Bank’s special contributions and guarantee fee support. Through these guarantees, Kibo will offer preferential benefits to eligible companies, such as an increase in the guarantee ratio (from 85% to 100% for three years) and a fixed guarantee fee (0.3%, for up to three years until age 39). Hana Bank will also provide support for guarantee fees (0.3 percentage points, for three years). As a result, eligible companies can benefit from technology guarantees for three years without bearing any guarantee fee costs.

The eligible recipients are technology startups that meet Kibo's technology guarantee requirements, where the actual manager is an entrepreneur between the ages of 17 and 39, and within seven years of founding. Based on this agreement, the two organizations plan to identify promising youth startups and cooperate to ensure they can smoothly secure the capital needed for both their expansion and entry into overseas markets.

Hyeongtaek Kwon, Director of Kibo, stated, “Kibo will continue to expand cooperation with financial institutions to proactively support youth-founded startups as they pursue innovation and grow into globally competitive companies.”

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