- Seoul Labs named among the Top 10 — 4 Korean and 6 international finalists — at the Asia-Pacific impact accelerator "Global ImpactPreneur," co-hosted by the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre and the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation, and took home the CVC Innovation Award
- The company proved its edge before international organizations and global investors with a KOICA ODA-backed project delivering digital identity verification and academic administration systems for a Laotian educational institution
- Seoul Labs plans to expand into neighboring ASEAN markets such as Vietnam, and to pursue further ODA partnerships with international bodies including World Vision and the World Bank
Seoul Labs (CEO Dohee Jang), a Layer-1 blockchain infrastructure company, announced on July 7 that it received the "CVC Innovation Award" — presented by CVC Capital Partners, Europe's largest private equity firm — at the demo day of Global ImpactPreneur, an Asia-Pacific impact startup accelerator co-hosted by the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre and the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation, and operated by Impact Square.
Launched in March of this year, Global ImpactPreneur is a global acceleration program designed to discover and nurture innovative entrepreneurs across the Asia-Pacific region who are advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From 126 startups across 10 Asia-Pacific countries, 20 teams advanced through document and interim screening to the finals. Seoul Labs secured a place among the Top 10 — comprising 4 Korean and 6 international companies — and went on to place third overall at the demo day final, held July 6–7 at Ondream Society in Seoul. The judging panel and audience included representatives from the UNDP, the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation, CVC Capital Partners, and a range of other venture capital firms, impact investors, and international organizations.
The impact business model Seoul Labs presented at the demo day combines blockchain-based Decentralized Identity (DID) with Hybrid Alternative Credit Scoring (HACS) to expand financial and public-service inclusion for underserved populations. The model centers on three types of DID — public-database-based DID, financial KYC-based DID, and personal DID — to build a trustworthy digital identity foundation even in countries and institutions where identity verification infrastructure is limited. Hybrid Alternative Credit Scoring, meanwhile, leverages SuperWallet to combine non-financial data — identity, participation, and transaction history — with blockchain records, enabling credit assessment and expanded financial access for users with thin or no credit history.
In practice, Seoul Labs was selected for KOICA's ODA CTS Seed2 program, through which it is building DID-based digital identity verification and upgrading academic administration systems — including certificate issuance — for a polytechnic institute in Laos. The project aims to accelerate Laos's local digital transformation and strengthen students' educational capabilities.
Building on this award, Seoul Labs plans to expand beyond educational institutions into neighboring ASEAN countries, pairing the model with its alternative credit scoring service. Having previously explored expansion into Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand, the company will use its participation in Global ImpactPreneur to deepen ties with UNDP and other international organization networks, while also pursuing ODA business development in partnership with international development organizations such as World Vision and the World Bank.
"I'm delighted that the real-world social value of blockchain technology has been recognized through the overseas business development and ODA/impact initiatives we've steadily pursued to commercialize the technology," said Dohee Jang, CEO of Seoul Labs. "We will expand the trust-based digital infrastructure model we've validated in Laos to more developing countries, building a structure where the benefits of technology flow to everyone — not just a select few."
Seoul Labs is also accelerating efforts to secure domestic and international intellectual property around its SuperWallet-related technologies centered on DID and HACS. The company stated it is preparing patent filings and a PCT application covering its three-type DID-based digital identity verification technology and its blockchain-based alternative credit scoring method.
Source : THE VENTURE TIMES (https://www.vtimes.kr)
0 Comments