Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center

What Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center does

Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center (강원창조경제혁신센터) is a regional node of South Korea's nationwide Creative Economy Innovation Center (CCEI) network, operating as a government-supported startup incubation platform under the supervision of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (중소벤처기업부) and operated by the Korean Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, or KISED (창업진흥원). The Gangwon center serves early-stage entrepreneurs and startups in the Gangwon region, addressing limited regional access to mentorship, funding, workspace, and business development resources. Services are provided free of charge as government-funded programs.

The center's core product is the unified CCEI web platform (ccei.creativekorea.or.kr), a hub-and-spoke portal serving all 19 regional centers across Korea. It provides online and offline counseling (운영 hours 09:00-18:00 on legal working days), an education application system, a business support program application system, workspace and equipment rental reservations, an incubation space listing, and a CCEI Investment matching service. Authentication is handled through Naver and Kakao social logins integrated with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' unified membership system. Regional outreach is conducted through Facebook, Instagram, Naver Blog, and YouTube.

From a business model perspective, Gangwon CCEI is a public institution rather than a commercial entity. Revenue is not commercially generated; rather, the center is funded through government appropriations routed via KISED and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. No pricing, headcount, funding rounds, M&A activity, or commercial revenue disclosures exist in the source material. Strategic activity is best measured by program outputs: in November 2025, three Gangwon startups (LEENBIO, CommonLink, FDTECH) supported by CCEI won CES 2026 Innovation Awards at the global tech exhibition in Las Vegas, indicating the network's role in elevating regional startups to international visibility.

Name

Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center

Legal name

Creative Economy Innovation Center (창조경제혁신센터)

Website

https://ccei.creativekorea.or.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center is a government-supported regional startup incubation center in South Korea's Gangwon Province, operated by KISED under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as one of 19 nationwide CCEI centers providing free counseling, education, workspace, and investment matching services to local entrepreneurs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubator Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

Keywords

• Startup incubation services
• Government innovation support
• Entrepreneur counseling
• Business development programs
• Investment matching services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Government-backed innovation center providing comprehensive startup support services in the Gangwon Region of South Korea, including online and offline entrepreneurship counseling, education programs, business application support, space and equipment rental, and CCEI investment matching. Operated as part of a nationwide network of 19 Creative Economy Innovation Centers under the supervision of the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Product overview

The Creative Economy Innovation Center (CCEI) operates a unified digital platform serving as the gateway to 19 regional innovation centers across Korea. The platform is built around a hub-and-spoke model where the central website (ccei.creativekorea.or.kr) provides access to services including Online Counseling, Offline Counseling, Education Application, Business Application, Facility and Equipment Rental, Available Space (incubation), and CCEI Investment. Regional centers (Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Incheon, Ulsan, Sejong, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungnam, Chungbuk, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Jeju, Pohang, Bitgaram) maintain local pages but share the same platform infrastructure. The ecosystem is supervised by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and operated by the Korean Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CCEI 투자 (CCEI Investment): Investment program for startups supported by the CCEI network

Products and services

• Online Counseling
• Offline Counseling
• Education Programs
• Business Application Support
• Space and Equipment Rental
• CCEI Investment Matching

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Korean Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (创业진흥원)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organization is operated by the Korean Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) under supervision of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. KISED provides operational support, funding, and program coordination across all 19 CCEI regional centers nationwide.
• Ministry of SMEs and Startups (중소벤처기업부)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organization is supervised by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which sets policy direction and provides governmental oversight for the Creative Economy Innovation Center network supporting startups and entrepreneurship across Korea.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the world's largest startup accelerator, providing seed funding, mentorship, and education to early-stage founders. While private and US-based, its program structure (education, cohort, demo day, investment) closely mirrors what Gangwon CCEI aspires to deliver at the regional Korean level.
• Seoul Business Agency (SBA) / Seoul Startup Hub: Seoul Startup Hub is a municipal government-supported startup incubation center providing education, mentoring, and space to early-stage companies in the Seoul metropolitan area, the most direct functional counterpart to Gangwon CCEI but at the city rather than regional state level.
• K-Startup (KISED): K-Startup is the parent platform of KISED (which operates the CCEI network). It provides nationwide startup support services, programs, and government-backed funding at the national level, sitting directly above Gangwon CCEI in the ecosystem.
• KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency): KOTRA is a Korean government agency supporting domestic companies (including startups) with global market entry, investor matching, and trade promotion services, overlapping with CCEI's investment-matching and CES preparation support functions at an international scale.

Direct peers

• Techstars: Techstars is a global startup accelerator running cohort-based programs offering mentorship, education, and seed investment — a direct international counterpart to Gangwon CCEI's accelerator-style service offering, though operating as a private firm rather than a government entity.
• D.CAMP (Dongguk University Startup Campus): D.CAMP is a major private startup accelerator and incubator in Korea offering mentorship, education, networking, and investment support to early-stage startups, structurally similar to Gangwon CCEI's service mix but operated as a private/non-profit institution.

Emerging players

• KAIST Office of University-Industry Cooperation: KAIST operates university-affiliated startup incubators and entrepreneurship centers providing education, mentoring, and lab-to-market support to tech founders in Korea, a comparable incubation model with an academic anchor that competes for the same founder talent pool.

Regional players

• Block71 (NUS Enterprise): Block71 is a Singapore-based government-linked startup hub network (originated by NUS Enterprise) providing incubation, mentorship, and corporate partnerships across multiple Asian cities, comparable in operating model to a regional CCEI but focused on Singapore/Southeast Asia.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cbccei

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments21 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gangwon Creation Economic Innovation Center