Fund Overview

About GLF

Total

About the Growth Ladder Fund (the "GLF")

A dedicated fund-of-funds(AUM KRW1.85 trillion) to address funding problems of start-ups & SMEs through its subordinate funds with different purpose and structure

KEB Bank / Industrial bank of korea / D.CAMP Growth Ladder Fund(Fund-of-Funds) / fund manager [k-growth] Private-sector Capital [Early Stages] Start-up Funds / K-Crowd Funds / Creative Economy Funds [Mid-Stages] M&A Funds / K-Growth Global Funds / Intellectual Property Funds [Later Stages] Secondary Funds / Restructuring Funds / KONEX Funds

Fund-of-funds structure

  • The fund is composed of a number of subordinate funds with different purposes and structures to meet funding needs tailored to different stages of the business cycle
  • Financed by public-based capital, the Growth Ladder Fund invests in its subordinate funds to effectively provide best solutions to strategic challenges that venture eco-system participants are facing at different phases

    Total AUM : KRW 1.85tn

    Fund duration : 20-year

[Mission] Promote the circulation of virtuous cycle in domestic venture eco-system

[Early Stage(Seed Stage)] - Expectation gap between start-ups and investors creates supply-demand imbalance - Risk-averse investors concentrate toward the latter phase of start-ups - Financing routes for start-ups need to be much more diversified - Importance of regional aspects of venture eco-system is often neglected - "Start-up fund" focuses on seed & early stage engagement - "K-Crowd fund" nurtures crowd funding market - "Creative economy fund" links regional conglomerate with start-ups [Mid-Stage(Growth Stage)] - Lack of capital and know-how deters SMEs from M&A participation - Global expansion is mandatory, but difficult to execute - SMEs with cutting-edge technology demand greater attentions from equity investors - "M&A fund" invests in M&A deals involving SMEs as a strategic investor - "K-Growth global fund" facilitates Korean SMEs' global expansion - "Intellectual Property fund" invests in SMEs and projects with innovative technology [Later Stage (Mature Stage)] - Secondary markets (both direct and LP interests) are not yet vitalized - SMEs with financial distress see less chance of equity financing - KONEX (Korea New Exchange, a securities exchange exclusively for SMEs) is a good IPO option for SMEs, but is not yet popularized - "Secondary fund" invests in tail-end assets and funds - "Restructuring fund" invests in DIP, sale & leaseback, M&A of financially distressed SMEs - "KONEX fund" invests in companies being traded on or planning to be listed on KONEX market