Paris and Seoul, October 12, 2023 – Bpifrance, the French public investment bank founded in 2013, and IBK, Industrial Bank of Korea, the South Korean financing organisation for small and media-sized enterprises (SMEs) created in 1961, have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide a better understanding of their respective ecosystems for the benefit of SMEs in both France and South Korea.  

IBK (“IBK”), located in Seoul, South Korea, strengthens its cooperation with Bpifrance the French public investment bank.

IBK VP Hyungil Kim and Executive Director Pascal Lagarde, announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) together, that aims to support SMES, mid cap companies, as well as startups and innovative companies in both France and South Korea.

This cooperation agreement testifies their willingness to collaborate and is part of a favourable context for the entrepreneurial ecosystem and innovation in the two countries.

Under the MOU, the two organizations will work together to help Korean and French SMES, mid-size caps, startups and innovative companies grow, and share knowledge and know-hows regarding SME-related policy financing and support. They will also exchange about economic research in the field of developing companies’ support.

Bpifrance which was founded in 2013 by the French state in efforts to centralize various support functions aimed at supporting SMEs. Since then, Bpifrance has become the key agency behind major national policies such as French Tech, a policy that supports French startups, as well as France 2030, a large-scale investment plan that focuses on sectors of France’s industrial future by the year 2030 to which Bpifrance is a key operator.

Meanwhile, IBK has recently increased its efforts to support domestic startups in expanding their business into overseas markets by operating the global accelerator '500 Global,' the 'IBK Changgong Global (Silicon Valley) Acceleration Program', as well as 'IBK Changgong Global (Europe) Acceleration Program' in collaboration with the German state of Saarland and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Hyungil Kim, Deputy CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea says:

"This MOU will help companies with high potentials from both countries in having a better view of the markets and the potential financing to which they have access, thanks to this collaboration. We hope that both institutions will continue to strengthen their cooperation ties and become a catalyst for connecting the two countries' SME support ecosystems."

Pascal Lagarde, Executive Director in charge of International, Strategy, Development and Studies at Bpifrance adds:

“Bpifrance is pleased to join forces with IBK to enable South Korean and French companies to gain a better understanding of our respective ecosystems, and to support capabilities of our banks, giving them the opportunity to expand in France and South Korea. In addition, IBK and Bpifrance will be able to share information helping to better understand what we do on both sides in terms of economic studies, always to the benefit of companies.”