Seoul Campus Town Joint Startup Competition Average Competition Rate 9 to 1
67% of Teams Passing Document Screening in Non-Face-to-Face Fields Such as SW, AI, and AR
[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, young entrepreneurs are fiercely competing in startup competitions where they can validate the potential of their business ideas and win prize money. Youth startups are quickly preparing business items related to 'contactless,' 'platform,' and 'health' sectors in anticipation of the post-COVID era.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that the startup competitions planned in collaboration with university campus towns to discover startups leading the post-COVID era are recording an average competition rate exceeding 9 to 1.
According to Seoul City, the 'Untact Investment Attraction (IR)' event planned by the campus towns of Korea University, Yonsei University, Sogang University, and Hanyang University in July saw 56 teams from the campus towns apply, resulting in a competition rate of 9.3 to 1. This competition serves as a kind of testbed program where startup companies can validate their corporate value and prototypes in the actual market and indirectly experience the investment attraction process.
In August, the 'Food Startup Competition' hosted by the alliance of campus towns from Kyung Hee University, Baewha Women’s University, and Sungkyunkwan University attracted a total of 78 teams, with a competition rate of 8.7 to 1. This event was designed to improve the short survival period and high failure rate of young entrepreneurs in the food market, which is shifting towards contactless technology and tech-centered changes.
These two competitions have currently selected 30 and 28 teams respectively through the first round of document screening, and expert mentoring and startup education are underway.
Notably, among the startup teams that passed the document screening, teams with business items related to contactless, platform, and health stood out. Of the 58 teams, 39 teams (67%) were startups in the contactless field such as software, AI (artificial intelligence), and AR (augmented reality), with most implementing their business ideas using platforms like applications.
Additionally, 16 teams (28%) applied with health-related startups, including customized healthcare services for infants and toddlers, development and education of cleaning and disinfection manuals for high-risk facilities, and vegan recipe sharing applications, demonstrating high interest in the related fields.
Lee Dae-woo, chief evaluator at Lotte Accelerator who was in charge of the document screening, said, "Startup items reflecting young people’s concerns and passion for various social issues stood out, and most teams are expected to grow."
Meanwhile, the campus towns of Kwangwoon University, Seoul National University, Sejong University, and Soongsil University are jointly planning the 'X-Tech Startup Competition' aimed at revitalizing technology startups through idea discovery in cross-tech (X-Tech, convergence technology) fields such as big data, 5G, and AI in the 4th industrial revolution. Cross-tech refers to the trend where digital technologies like IT and AI combine with other technologies, industries, and humans, such as FinTech and AgriTech.
The three competitions organized by these campus town alliances will hold their final rounds simultaneously at the 'Seoul Campus Town Festival' on October 30. Due to the resurgence and prolongation of COVID-19, the competitions will be conducted in a hybrid format combining online live streaming and offline events.
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