DAEJEON — Daejeon Investment & Finance said on the 30th that Timeworks Investment, a fund manager it backs, invested 2 billion won ($1.4 million) in ICT Way, a local company.
The deal marks a case in which a sub-fund seeded by Daejeon Investment & Finance invested directly in a local company, channeling public capital through a private fund manager into growth funding for a regional firm.
ICT Way plans to use the proceeds for research and development, hiring, commercialization and market expansion.
Daejeon Investment & Finance is a regional investment institution established by the Daejeon Metropolitan Government. It supplies growth capital to innovative companies in the region through both commitments to venture funds and direct investments. In particular, it requires sub-funds to invest a set portion in Daejeon-based companies, a condition designed to draw venture capital that tends to concentrate in the greater Seoul area into the region, while serving as a bridge between capable private fund managers and local firms.
"We will strengthen the link between our fund commitments and investments so that more private capital flows into Daejeon's strong technology companies, centered on the Daedeok Innopolis," said Song Won-kang, chief executive of Daejeon Investment & Finance. "We will continue to work closely with fund managers to broaden opportunities for local companies to attract investment, and we will also work to build a regional investment ecosystem so that Daejeon can establish itself as a good city for investment."
