Global Expansion Program For Startups: Beyond Acceleration to PoC and Customer Development

PoC opportunities with German large enterprises and customer development tracks targeting government institutions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE

[SWTV 이지한 기자] Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Business Agency (SBA, CEO Kim Hyun-woo) announced the recruitment of promising startups for ‘2026 Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok Global Expansion Program’, offering comprehensive PoC, Scale-up, and Acceleration support. The Application period run from March 19th to April 7th.

The programis designed to support promising startups in entering the global market and scaling up through global public-private partnership network. The initial round of recruitment targets 13 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with a plan to select approximately 60 startups across 10 programs.

Moving Beyond simple market exploration, the program strengthens Global PoC tracks and introduces an innovative Customer Development Program to achieve practical outcomes. Global PoC Initiative not only offers local technology validation and commercialization opportunities, but also enhanced support, including demand validation, local customer and partner matching and investment attraction for late-stage scale-ups.

Around 10 global partners including 123 Factory, specializing in venture clienting in collaboration with Europe-based major corporations, HEC Paris, an accelerator dedicated to producing over 30% unicorns in France, Big Impact, a venture capital based in the Kansai region of Japan, and Unicorn Incubator, a leading cross-border accelerator specializing in Korea-India market entry will build strategic partnership to closely support startups enter across global market including Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Selected startups will be provided with various forms of support to scale up, including commercialization grants, customized acceleration, PoC opportunities with Global enterprises, and local market validation.

Comprehensive support for global expansion such as tailored 1:1 consulting, global IR and demo days, local PoC, customer-driven business development, and fundraising and overseas incorporation is provided for participating startups by program type.

Any startup based in Seoul seeking global expansion is eligible to apply. In particular, the initiative aims to source startups with their proprietary technologies in sectors including AI, Bio& Health Care, Robotics, Fintech and other emerging industries.

The effectiveness of Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok Global Expansion Program has already been proven through its tangible outcomes.

Canalog participated in Singapore Expansion Program in 2025. It secured a PoC opportunity for a 1.8MWp rooftop solar power plant at a local public water treatment facility. Building on this achievement, the company has expanded its local network by participating as a strategic partner in a technological innovation research project hosted by JTC (Juron Town Corporation) in Singapore. Recently, it has secured around approximately KRW 4 billion in cumulative investment, further accelerating its global expansion.

TR Corporation, which has received support from Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok for two consecutive years, has formed partnership with FPT Group and AstraZeneca Vietnam. To adopt its digital-based respiratory diagnostic device, The Spirokit, into local hospital, it conducted on-site evaluations and discussed implementation procedures with major respiratory hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Recruitment for the 2026 Seoul Startup Hub Gongdoek Global Expansion Program for PoC, Scale-up and Acceleration (10 countries) can be found on the following website. The application period runs from March 19th to April 7th.

Kim Jong-woo, the Director of Startup Division from Seoul Business Agency noted, “The 2025 Global Expansion Program achieved tangible results, including PoC opportunities with public institutions and participating in government research projects in Singapore, and the establishment of partnerships with Vietnamese enterprises. We aim to support promising startups in achieving tangible success in the global market through enhanced initiatives such as PoC opportunities and customer development”