K-water Focus ② : Water, Nature and Humankind

K-water Focus ②
Water industry funds act as catalysts for the growth of innovative water startups
The signing ceremony for the investment agreement for the initial corporate recipient of the Southeastern Region Innovation Fund.
K-water joined hands with Ulsan Metropolitan City, the government of South Gyeongsang Province to increase funds for the doemstic water industry. The signing of an investment agreement for domestic water corporations has laid the foundation to advance promising water corporations, further develop South Korea’s water industry and encourage balanced regional development.
Written by Haeng-jwa Choi Photos by K-water

ADBO and Gong Gong selected as investment recipients of K-water’s water industry fund

K-water officially selected the initial investment recipient of the Southeastern Region Innovation Venture Fund, and held the signing ceremony for the investment agreement on January 17, 2023 at its head office.
The Southeastern Region Innovation Venture Fund was launched jointly by K-water, Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Gyeongsang Province, and Korea Venture Investment Corp. to promote the growth of South Korea’s water industry and stimulate the local economy in South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan by investing in the water industry and local innovative startups. This is the second water industry fund following the Chungcheong New Deal Fund in which K-water participated in March 2021.
With the signing of the agreement in 2021, a total of KRW 84 billion will be raised for three years starting in 2022 to create a master fund to include 42 billion of the fund itself, KRW 30 billion from K-water and KRW 12 billion from municipal governments. Six feeder funds worth over KRW 120 billion will be set up to make investments in the water industry and promising water corporations operating in South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan Metropolitan City.
The first two beneficiaries of the fund is ADBO that is currently working on commercialization of eco-friendly building structures, and Gong Gong Co., Ltd. that has developed water-based, low-carbon air purification technology. Under the investment agreement, ADBO will receive KRW 1.5 billion in investment and Gong Gong KRW 500 million.
In addition to the investments, K-water will also offer other supports including providing testbeds for technology demonstration/ validation, facilitating field applications and mentoring, and joining startups’ participation in domestic and international expos to help them accelerate their growth.

“As a comprehensive water service platform provider, K-water will capitalize on the water industry fund to create a water industry innovation ecosystem in a regionally balanced manner.”

From a domestic water startup to a global unicorn company

K-water has been setting up and expanding water industry-specialized funds since 2018, and has invested approximately KRW 100 billion of its own funds, with plans to expand the water industry-specialized fund to over KRW 460 billion by 2025. The fund is intended to accelerate the growth of unicorn companies and sharpen the competitive edge of the water industry, playing the role of priming water to stimulate and encourage investment in the industry.
Recently, K-water showcased 10 innovative technologies at CES 2023 and garnered global notoriety for Korea’s water technology and future growth potential of South Korea’s water industry through 680 meetings with potential overseas buyers and USD 9 million worth of sales contracts secured by 14 Korean water corporations that attended the event.
Director Jeong-ho Ahn Ahn at K-water’s Green Infrastructure Business said, “As a comprehensive water service platform provider, K-water will capitalize on the water industry fund to create a water industry innovation ecosystem in a regionally balanced manner and provide various supports for water-related innovative startups to grow as global unicorn companies.”

※ This interview was conducted in accordance with the COVID-19 safety rules.