5,385 Companies Applied for Non-Face-to-Face Startup Support Program... Competition Rate 13.5 to 1

Final Selection of 400 Sites, Up to 150 Million KRW in Business Funds per Company
Support for Technology, Sales Channels, and Certification Programs

On the 2nd, at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, the autonomous driving robot startup Dogu Space's outdoor autonomous patrol robot 'Patrover' is moving onto the stage at the Regulatory Sandbox 2nd Anniversary Performance Report. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 14th that 5,385 companies applied to participate in the 'Non-face-to-face Startup Development Project.'

The final selected companies are expected to be 400, showing a high competition rate of 13.5 to 1 for this recruitment. To quickly discover and nurture promising startups leading the 'post-COVID' era, the Ministry established the Non-face-to-face Startup Development Project (Innovation Field Startup Package) this year. The total budget is 60 billion KRW.

This support project selects startups through specialized lead organizations in each field under the jurisdiction of 12 ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It provides up to 150 million KRW per company for commercialization funds and supports specialized programs such as technology, sales channels, and certification in each field.

The application status by detailed field was confirmed as follows: ▲Online Education (570 companies) ▲Edutech Systems (514 companies) ▲Online Agriculture and Food (441 companies), Regional and Converged Media (399 companies) ▲Non-face-to-face Medical (327 companies). In particular, 1,526 companies applied for the 'Eureka Field,' which recruits target startups without specifying a detailed field. The competition rate for this field was calculated at 42.4 to 1.

An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "Regarding the applying companies, we will select supported companies by the end of May through document evaluation, presentation evaluation, etc., conducted by the lead organizations of the collaborating ministries by field, and start supporting startup commercialization from June."