Of late, angel investment is increasing rapidly, which is a good sign for cash-strapped entrepreneurs and the economy as a whole, according to the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA). An angel investor is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business startup, usually in exchange for ownership equity.

The number of angel investors registered at the SMBA’s Angel Investment Support Center has surpassed 1,000 after five months of the center’s launch in late November 2011. Currently as many as 28 angel investors clubs have been organized.

In addition, the 10-billion-won (US$8.8 million) angel investment matching fund, created in January in partnership with the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation and the Korean Venture Capital Association, has provided a total of 1.3 billion won for nine startup companies.

Given that matching funds are given to investors who have had more than two cases of investment for the past two years, there has been 1.3-billion-won worth of investment for the last three months. This is no doubt a welcome change for upstart companies thirsty for new capital injections.

Sean Chung (press@whowired.com)