KT&G (President Bang Kyung-Man) held the 'Start Track IR Pitching Day' on the 30th at the 'KT&G Sangsang Planet' in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, a space dedicated to young entrepreneurs. This event was designed to secure investment opportunities for teams participating in the 8th batch of the 'KT&G Sangsang Startup Camp,' a program supporting young entrepreneurs. 

The 'Start Track IR Pitching Day' featured 15 early-stage startups, selected in January and having completed about four months of entrepreneurship training programs. These startups presented their business models directly to investors and social venture stakeholders, aiming to secure investment opportunities.

The event proceeded with the startups presenting their business ideas and achievements, followed by evaluations from experts. A meetup session was also held, allowing startups to freely engage with venture capitalists, social venture stakeholders, and business development officials from KT&G and KGC, fostering discussions that could lead to actual investments. 

Shim Young-Ah, KT&G’s ESG Management Office Director, expressed support for the participants, stating, "We hope the participants, based on their experiences in the 'Sangsang Startup Camp', will relentlessly pursue their goals as social innovation entrepreneurs. KT&G will continue to stand by the young entrepreneurs as a supportive partner."

Furthermore, the 'KT&G Sangsang Startup Camp' is a youth entrepreneurship program aimed at solving social issues through business. It provides practical support to young entrepreneurs to flourish as social innovation entrepreneurs through expert mentoring and hands-on education. 

Since its inception in 2017, the program has successfully run seven batches until last year, producing a total of 144 startup teams, generating over 42 billion won in cumulative sales, and creating jobs for more than 830 individuals. 36 teams have progressed into the government's 'Social Enterprise Promotion Project.' For these contributions, KT&G received the Presidential Commendation for Job Creation in 2022 and the Presidential Commendation for Contributors to the Social Economy in 2021.

(Photo Description 1) On the 30th, Shim Young-Ah, Director of the KT&G ESG Management Office (eighth from the right in the first row), is seen taking a commemorative photo with the participating startup teams at the 'Start Track IR Pitching Day' hosted by KT&G. 

(Photo Description 2) On the 30th, at the 'Start Track IR Pitching Day' hosted by KT&G, Ye-seul Kang, CEO of 'Wowkiki Co., Ltd.', is seen presenting.