AI-powered solutions to navigate and access Korea's startup funding programs
The Incheon Foreign Start-up Challenge (IFC2026), organized by Incheon City and managed by Incheon Techno Park (ITP), is an accessible entry point into Korea's startup support ecosystem for foreign founders. Also known as Incheon’s OASIS 6, IFC is a one-day pitching competition that provides pre- and early-stage startups initial capital, visa benefits, and incubation workspace to support their business launch in Incheon. For those interested in applying, understanding how the competition is evaluated is your first step to preparing a strong application and pitch deck.
The first round is a document review where only 15 teams advance to the next round. The scoring rubric is divided into four categories, each worth 25 points, plus a 10-point bonus for those who completed OASIS-5 in Incheon in 2025-2026. Your application, which consists of a detailed business plan, your resume, and pitch deck, will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
This category rewards founders who have done their homework on Korea. Rather than presenting a generic market analysis, the judges evaluate:
The application asks you to define your target market and sales strategy. This means going beyond naming a customer segment. You need to demonstrate that you understand the landscape those customers exist in: who else is serving them, what channels reach them, and why Korea specifically is the right market for this idea. Exemplifying your robust understanding about Korea to devise a credible plan will help separate your application from the rest.
Application Must Haves:
Where Business Knowledge evaluates what you know, Feasibility evaluates what you can actually do with it. Judges are looking at whether your startup plan is realistic, meaning your timeline is achievable, your commercialization path is grounded, and your business idea acknowledges the real obstacles of entering a new market and shows how you navigate them.
The application template asks you to detail your business development and commercialization strategy, including your development method, implementation schedule, and promotion plan. This is where your market knowledge has to translate into executable steps.
Application Must Haves:
Submitting you and your team’s resumes is a requirement of the application because judges want to determine whether you currently have (or plan to hire) people with the right skills, experience, and capabilities to successfully execute the business idea. For Incheon City and Incheon Techno Park, they are investing in you and your business, hence it’s important to showcase how you can bring an idea to reality.
Relevant industry experience, prior startup history, domain expertise, and any existing relationships in Korea all strengthen your score. If you are a first-time founder in an adjacent field, you need to make the case for why your specific background gives you an advantage that others do not have.
Application Must Haves:
This category is often overlooked and not thought about in-depth. Judges are evaluating three things: 1) how much funding you need; 2) how you plan to raise it; 3) and whether your financial projections are realistic.
Application Must Haves:
Out of the total applicant pool, 15 teams are selected to advance to the Round 2. In this round, teams must give a 10 minute pitch presentation followed by a Q&A session. Similar to the previous round, the evaluation criteria is divided into four equally weighted parts.
The judges want to see that your idea is genuinely new, not a variation of something that already exists in Korea. Innovation here does not require breakthrough technology, but it does require that you can clearly articulate what makes your approach different and why that difference matters.
When preparing your presentation, ensure it clearly answers the questions:
This mirrors Round 1, but now you have to make the case in real time, in front of a panel. Your ability to defend how your product or service is feasible and how viable the business is will be tested during both your presentation and the Q&A session.
Ensure your can clearly state:
If your problem statement is weak, your solution will seem arbitrary. If your commercialization plan lacks specificity, your numbers will not hold up.
Prepare for the Q&A as seriously as you will prepare the presentation itself. Particularly when it comes to market size and revenue projections, know every number you put on a slide and what happens to your model if a core assumption shifts. Judges will test whether you understand the ins and outs of your own business.
This is your opportunity to reiterate the experience, skills, and capability of yourself and your team mates to build credibility. You want to answer the question “Why am I the right person to execute this business idea and bring it from concept to reality?”
While not an obvious criteria, judges will also be looking at the way you carry yourself as your team’s representative. Confidence, fluency with your subject matter, and the ability to answer unexpected questions with poise all contribute to this score. Think of possible questions the panel may have and practice answering those.
Finally, you will be evaluated on your logical reasoning, delivery skills, and credibility. The flow of your presentation is key to making sure the audience stays engaged throughout the entire 10 minutes.
In Korea, pitch decks and presentations generally follow the following format:
Finally, practice makes perfect. Rather than practicing alone, practice in front of others, especially fellow startup founders. This will help simulate the actual presentation, helping to identify any information gaps and reducing your nerves.
Become part of a community of foreign founders who share peer insights about visas, incorporation, and grants in Korea. Join to learn about various events, including pitch practice meetups.
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Only four Tier 1 (excellence) teams and six Tier 2 (encouragement) teams will be selected as finalists, making IFC a very selective competition.
All ten finalist teams receive a voucher of ₩1,000,000 KRW to cover business incorporation fees (법인설립지원). Tier 1 teams receive an additional ₩5,000,000 KRW commercialization voucher, issued after the winning team establishes a Korean corporation. Eligible costs will be announced separately but are expected to cover expenses such as development and design fees, prototype production, IP registration, and expert consultation.
In addition to grant funding, all finalist teams receive:
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For foreign founders who are ready to establish a foothold in Incheon, the IFC is an opportunity you should seriously consider. It offers more than prize money - it opens the door to the legal, physical, and institutional infrastructure that provide a strong foundation for your early-stage startup.
Symone Gosby
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