Press

Incheon's 'I^Local' project, which fosters young local creators in population-declining and interest-focused regions, is in full swing. I^Local means connecting Incheon and local regions. On the 10th, Incheon announced that it will recruit applicants for the I^Local support program to discover and nurture young entrepreneurs in population-declining and interest-focused regions until the 30th, together with the Incheon Creative Economy Innovation Center. The city is pursuing this project in connection with the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Local Extinction Response Fund. Young people who wish to grow as local creators by utilizing regional resources in Ganghwa County, Ongjin County, and Dong-gu in Incheon—designated as population-declining and interest-focused areas by the Ministry of Interior and Safety—are the targets of the project. The city will select and support a total of 36 teams of young people aged 18-39 years old who are prospective entrepreneurs or have been in business for 7 years or less (individuals or up to 2 co-founders). The city will provide up to 50 million won per team in commercialization funds along with 12 weeks of education, mentoring, and regional resource surveys. It has also prepared networking, local creator advanced site visits, and field-focused programs. In particular, the city will divide tracks by Ganghwa County, Ongjin County, and Dong-gu, and at regional hub spaces (or online), not only provide understanding of local business but also establish strategies for growth as a representative regional brand through brand diagnosis and marketing. Additionally, it plans to conduct networking with senior local entrepreneurs through regional exploration programs including Gunsan and Jeju, which are advanced areas for local creators. Kim Ji-young, Director of the Women and Family Bureau at Incheon City, said, "We will spare no effort in supporting young entrepreneurs who want to create Incheon's representative brands to settle well in the region." She added, "We hope for active support from young prospective entrepreneurs and young entrepreneurs who are interested."