NH Sows Seeds of 'Digital Innovation,' Reaps 'Fruits of Mutual Growth' with Startups

"To maximize the power of digital innovation, collaboration with startups and open innovation are essential."

This was the message from Lee Seok-yong, President of NH Nonghyup Bank, at the '2024 NH Open

Business Day' held at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 21st.

"Open innovation is a process where corporations and startups combine their strengths to create greater synergy, generate social value, and turn the future we imagine into reality," Lee stated.

The NH Open Business Day is an event to share the results of collaborations with startups that participated in the 'NH Open Business Hub,' NH Nonghyup Bank's open innovation program for discovering, collaborating with, and investing in digital innovation companies. To date, the NH Open Business Hub has produced 101 successful collaborations with 194 startups.

Speaking about the startups collaborating this year, President Lee said, "Nonghyup and the startups have intensely deliberated and discussed together to bring about more advanced changes and world-altering innovations." He added, "Through cooperation with startups, NH Nonghyup will accelerate its digital transformation and provide high-quality services to our customers."

He continued, "Next year, to foster even more collaborations, we plan to significantly increase funding for Proof of Concept (PoC) projects and conduct active investment reviews through regularized investment IR (Investor Relations) events. We will also operate various internal and external communities to encourage our employees to take a greater interest in new business areas and innovative technologies."

Deep.Plant is a startup with meat tenderizing technology that adds value to low-grade, less-preferred cuts of meat by making them tender through an aging process. Having collaborated with the NH Food R&D Center since last December, Deep.Plant showcased its B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Hanwoo and Handon products at the event.

"It's difficult to expand the business for low-grade, less-preferred cuts unless a large institution like Nonghyup gets involved," CEO Kim Cheol-beom told Money Today's startup media platform, Unicorn Factory, expressing a positive view of his open innovation experience with NH Nonghyup.