Lotte Group is set to increase its investment in youth start-ups. The Group plans to establish ‘Lotte Accelerator’ which is an investment company that will provide initial funding, infrastructure and mentoring for start-ups established by young people.
Lotte selected ‘Honey Spoon’, a start-up dedicated to producing and retailing natural honey, as the top ‘Lotte Accelerator’ in November, and will provide various support including KRW 20 million and distribution channels. As part of its support, Lotte allowed ‘Honey Spoon’ to market its products on Lotte oneTV, an internet broadcasting station from Lotte Home Shopping. Honey Spoon will also be able to sell its products in Busan Lotte Duty Free Shop which also targets foreign tourists.
Lotte emphasizes “We are trying to establish an investment corporation in order to support youth start-ups in a more consistent and systematic way. We plan to support youth start-ups in a real sense through related institutions such as Lotte Accelerator and Busan Creative Economic Innovation Center.”
Meanwhile, Lotte held a youth start-up conference in mid-November, inviting 50 start-ups to attend. At the conference, discussion took place on effectively growing a start-up, along with explanations of each attending start-up and Lotte Accelerator, which will be incorporated into its support programs.