It will provide 200,000 euros from FONPYME in the first COFIDES operation in this country
FacePhi Biometrics will have the support of COFIDES to strengthen its implementation in South Korea. Thanks to a co-investment loan for promoters, the company will receive 200,000 euros from the Fund for Foreign Investment Operations for Small and Medium Enterprises (FONPYME).
FIRST COFIDES OPERATION IN SOUTH KOREA
This project total investment amounts to 300,000 euros of which FacePhi will contribute with 100,000 euros. The company, specialized in the development of recognition software, will cover the workforce, rental and promotion costs of its subsidiary in South Korea. This country represents an important step in its internationalization strategy, thanks to its product potential in one of the international authentication and identification market leading environments. This is the first operation COFIDES performs in the Asian country.
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
This project has an impact on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 9) by promoting innovation, fraud prevention and costs reduction through paperless technology. Through its cutting-edge activity, the company encourages research and development of new technologies based on biometrics identification and authentication.
José Luis Curbelo, President of COFIDES, has highlighted “the clear innovative nature” and the “experience” of FacePhi in the industry, “two key aspects to address a successful internationalization process in one of the countries with more potential for the next years regarding to biometrics and its commercial use.”
Meanwhile, Javier Mira, FacePhi CEO, has highlighted “the strong demand for biometrics products that currently exists in the APAC area”, which represents “an exceptional opportunity to publicize and market our technology in Asian countries, breaking through in this new market and consolidating our internationalization strategy.”
FacePhi is an Alicante-based company specialized in the development and commercialization of recognition software for facial biometrics and other biometrics, particularly for the banking sector. It has experience in Spain and in several Latin American countries, from which it receives most of his turnover.
Its technology is integrated into digital applications. In the banking field, it allows the user to make requests and operations, open accounts or contract mobile or web banking services. It could also be used for carrying out certain operations in bank branches and ATMs.
The company has designed and developed its own algorithm from scratch; it offers support and maintenance services; and it has more than 30 contracts signed with different banks around the world to serve more than six million users.
COFIDES is a public-private company offering financial investment support for Spanish companies abroad since 1988. It is an entity accredited before the EU for the management of the community budget, which allows it to structure operations with high development impact. Likewise, it is an entity accredited before the Green Fund for the Climate of Nations and it can structure climate change mitigation and adaptation operations before this fund.
It exclusively manages the FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Ministry of Commerce, attached to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and provides support to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in the management of FONPRODE. Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and CAF-Banco de Desarrollo de América participate in its shareholders.
