Hana Securities said on May 8 it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center to foster local startups and invigorate the investment ecosystem.

The agreement was designed to identify innovative companies in the Jeonbuk region early and support activation of the startup ecosystem outside the capital region by supplying venture capital.

The two sides plan to jointly identify and nurture promising startups in strategic industry groups in the Jeonbuk region. They will also jointly explore ways to support follow-on investment by growth stage and entry into capital markets.

Hana Securities will provide financial support tailored to each company’s stage of growth, including reviewing direct investments and contributions to investment funds, and fundraising. It will also pursue support for capital-market entry, including initial public offering consulting and mergers and acquisitions advisory services.

To strengthen execution of the agreement, it also plans to contribute to Jeonbuk Venture Innovation Investment Association No. 3, which the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center plans to form in the second half of this year.

It aims to create an investment structure that leads from company discovery to follow-on investment and capital-market entry by supplying funds to accelerators that closely incubate early-stage local startups.

Kang Seong-mook (강성묵), CEO of Hana Securities, said the agreement is meaningful in that it establishes a system that connects Jeonbuk-area startups from initial investment to follow-on investment and capital-market entry. He said Hana Securities will contribute to invigorating the Jeonbuk investment ecosystem based on its investment and corporate finance capabilities.