Songpa-gu Selects 5 Youth Startup Teams... 20 Million KRW Support Per Team

Support Available for Entrepreneurs Under 39 in Songpa-gu

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is recruiting (preliminary) youth startup companies to participate in the ‘Songpa Youth Startup Challenge Project’ from the 12th to the 30th.

Five selected companies will each receive support of 20 million KRW.

The ‘Songpa Youth Startup Challenge Project’ is a program where the district discovers promising young entrepreneurs with business ideas and technologies and supports their startups. It started in 2019 and is now in its third year, targeting youth startup companies in ICT, apps, platform development, mobile games, software, metaverse, and more.

Especially this year, one team will be selected separately in the Aging-Tech field, which combines IT technology and the elderly to help improve the daily convenience of seniors marginalized in the digital era.

Applicants must be early-stage startups (companies) within three years of establishment located in Songpa-gu or preliminary startup teams planning to establish in Songpa-gu, with the representative’s age being 39 or younger.

Selection will be made through a first-round document review and a second-round face-to-face evaluation based on feasibility, validity, creativity, and employment effects.

The final selected companies will sign an agreement with Songpa-gu and use the support funds to carry out their projects until November. In December, a performance presentation on the project results will also be held.

For application procedures and other inquiries, please refer to the ‘Notices’ section on the Songpa-gu Office website and search for ‘Challenge.’

Last year, through the ‘Songpa Youth Startup Challenge Project,’ the district supported 10 youth startup companies struggling to attract investment due to COVID-19. Among them, seven companies achieved increases in the number of regular employees (an increase of 12) and sales revenue. This year, the district plans to monitor the status of companies that participated in 2019 and 2020 and conduct follow-up management in cooperation with the Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center.

Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “Many young entrepreneurs are facing difficulties as consumption and investment have shrunk due to COVID-19,” adding, “We will carry out various startup support projects to be a strong pillar and helper for young entrepreneurs.”