Saudi MCIT Concludes 'Tech Founder in Korea 2025'; 20 Companies Complete Korean Ecosystem Tour

Opening New Horizons for Saudi-Korea Innovation Cooperation: 'Tech Founder in Korea 2025' Concludes Successfully The 'Tech Founder in Korea 2025' program, hosted by the Center for Digital Entrepreneurship (CODE) under Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and operated by SparkLabs Saudi, successfully concluded on the 12th. This program, conducted as a key part of MCIT's global incubation track, served as an important opportunity for 20 promising tech startups, carefully selected by the Saudi government, to directly experience Korea's dynamic innovation ecosystem and lay the groundwork for global expansion. Participating companies, who stayed in Seoul for six weeks from November 3rd to December 12th, deeply explored Korea's advanced technological environment and creative startup culture. Through close exchanges with leading domestic universities such as Seoul National University and Korea University, and major corporations like SPC and Naver, they actively sought not just simple meetings but also practical collaboration opportunities and market entry possibilities. The closing ceremony, held at the Grand Ballroom of COEX in Seoul, reaffirmed the importance of cooperation between the two countries. Key Saudi figures, including Mohammad Al-Obayan, MCIT Deputy Minister, Abdullah Al-Shamrani, CODE General Manager, and Ibrahim Neyaz, NTDP CEO, attended, while in Korea, university officials from Seoul National University, Korea University, and major industry figures from SPC, Naver, and others participated en masse to celebrate the program's success. Through this program, a groundbreaking achievement of more than 10 MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) was signed between companies from both countries. This led to tangible outcomes, establishing not just expressions of intent but concrete corporate collaboration models and robust partnership frameworks, and is expected to become a strong foundation for continuous growth and expansion in the future. Kim Yu-jin, CEO of SparkLabs, emphasized, "This program has become an important milestone, further strengthening cooperation with the Saudi government and partner organizations," and articulated the vision that "SparkLabs will continue to steadfastly serve as a core hub, supporting the dynamic growth of Saudi startups and creating synergy with the global expansion of Korean companies." This achievement clearly demonstrates the opening of a new chapter in the development of both countries' startup ecosystems and presents a bright outlook for future innovation cooperation.