The Circle: Founders Club launches Market Access focused Accelerator Program for 10 Korean startups in India

The program represents a significant step towards strengthening the collaboration between South Korea and India in the startup ecosystem

Delhi/NCR: The Circle: Founders Club (The Circle FC), a business accelerator for growth-stage startups announces the successful onboarding of ten high-potential Korean startups into the Korea Startup Center (KSC) India 2023 program. 

KSC is a startup support program created by KISED (Korea Institute of Startups & Entrepreneurship Development) under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The Circle FC has partnered with KISED to run this program for the second year in a row. This program is run across 8 countries including India,  USA, Israel, France, Singapore, Vietnam, Finland and Sweden. The goal is to help Korean startups achieve global market access through collaboration with local accelerator partners.

These startups, hailing from diverse sectors such as Health-tech, HR-Tech, SaaS, and Travel-tech, have innovative products and solutions, and are keen to explore synergies in the Indian market. KSC India offers Korean startups many benefits, including market entry support, access to the Indian ecosystem, tailored mentorship, setting up tech-development centers, product localization, hiring local team, cultural understanding, networking events, and more. The program aims to empower startups with the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in the dynamic Indian market.

The selected startups for KSC India 2023 represent diverse industries and accomplishments. These include, LEEBRIDGE, AI Design startup which is transforming 3D Modeling in manufacturing plants, Diveroid, the smart scuba gear with smartphone integration, McKinleyRice, HR-Tech company which helps streamlining applicant verification. LabSD, health-tech startup transforming global eye health with AI-enabled retinal exams on recycled smartphones, NomadHer, travel startup, empowering women globetrotters worldwide to travel solo, DoctorBridge is an ed-tech startup focussed on upskilling doctors with an integrated E-commerce platform, DenQ, a dental implant startup which manufactures cross-functional and affordable dental implants, LaWith, bringing authentic Korean street food to India, AirLab, is innovating nasal health with Nose Air Clean and SimpleLyfe which is innovating Sustainable Packaging Solutions.

“Global business landscape is undergoing a transformation, and India is taking centre stage. Being the world’s fastest growing large economy, it is a land of opportunity. 

We are excited to help our Korean startups succeed by providing them with tailored support specific to their needs. We guide them with actionable market understanding to enter and establish a strong foothold in India through the KSC 2023 program.”

“Global business landscape is undergoing a transformation, and India is taking centre stage. Being the world’s fastest growing large economy, it is a land of opportunity. We are excited to help our Korean startups succeed by providing them with tailored support specific to their needs. We guide them with actionable market understanding to enter and establish a strong foothold in India through the KSC 2023 program.” –  said, Nemesisa Ujjain, Project Director of The Circle FC

Rajiv Bathla, CEO of The Circle said “At The Circle FC, our focus is to help ensure that these promising Korean startups are able to showcase their innovations, partner with the right local players and are able to make a significant impact in the India market”

Throughout the program, the startups will have ample opportunities to connect with the Indian stakeholders, corporates, VCs and partners through networking events and industry conferences and fully immerse themselves in the ecosystem. Most of them will also be hiring for their local teams during the course of the program. At the end of 12 weeks, all the startups will get an opportunity to be a part of the grand demo day.

During last year’s KSC India 2022 cohort, the startups signed 23 MoUs, went through 650+ hours of mentoring, more than 150+ one on one meetings, participated in 15+ top-tier events such as NASSCOM Product Conclave (NPC), DIDAC India 2023, Expodent 2022 (Mumbai), and ecosystem meet-ups. 

About The Circle: Founders Club:

The Circle: Founders Club is a digital-first business accelerator to help startups and scale-ups through focused mentoring, shared business services, funding support, investor & corporate connects, and community access. The program has a strong partner ecosystem within India and Globally. The Circle FC has a well-established global footprint having worked with 55 startups across India, the US, Korea, Israel, the UK, and other countries.