Ministry of SMEs selects 'SobuJang Startups' with future industry competitiveness

520 Companies Apply for 20 Slots, 26:1 Competition Ratio

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. [Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] 'High-resolution bio digital image analysis solution,' 'Autonomous vehicles and industrial 4-dimensional (4D) image radar,' 'Electric vehicle used battery recycling technology.'

These are the projects being pursued by companies that applied for the 'Sobujang Startup 100,' an initiative by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to discover innovative startups leading the strengthening of competitiveness in the materials, parts, and equipment industry.

'Sobujang Startup 100' systematically nurtures startups through collaboration with large corporations and produces results by selecting candidate companies according to the technology demands of large corporations, matching them mutually, and then refining business projects over about one month before final selection.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 25th that it has selected 40 candidate companies in the first round to finally select 20 companies this year. A total of 520 startups applied this year, showing a high competition rate of 26:1, attracting strong interest on-site again this year following last year.

Over the past two months, the Ministry conducted a strict evaluation of marketability, scalability, growth potential, and business feasibility through the first written evaluation and the second face-to-face evaluation, selecting 40 candidate companies. The final 20 companies are expected to be selected around November.

'Sobujang Startup 100' was established in 2020 to strengthen the competitiveness of the materials, parts, and equipment industry, which is a core element of manufacturing competitiveness, and will select and support a total of 100 companies over five years by selecting 20 companies annually until 2024.

The 20 startups selected last November achieved sales of 22.7 billion KRW and employment of 170 people within six months, demonstrating that 'Sobujang Startup 100' is contributing to discovering and nurturing promising startups, revitalizing startups in the materials, parts, and equipment sector, and establishing a stable domestic supply chain.

This year, through meetings with experts from industry, academia, and research, five major fields were set where startups have strengths and new market creation is needed: smart engineering, composite materials, convergent bio, industrial Internet of Things (IoT), and eco-friendly sectors. A public recommendation system was introduced to increase public interest in the project and discover promising startups with capabilities.

By sector, 10 companies (25%) were selected in eco-friendly, 8 (20%) in smart engineering, 8 (20%) in industrial IoT, 8 (20%) in composite materials, and 6 (15%) in convergent bio. By region, 20 companies (50%) were selected in the metropolitan area, 12 (30%) in Chungcheong, 5 (12.5%) in Yeongnam, and 3 (7.5%) in Honam.

The selected projects include innovative and experimental tasks such as augmented wearable glass device-based digital twin solutions, functional see-through display materials, high-resolution bio digital image analysis solutions, autonomous vehicles and industrial 4D image radar, and electric vehicle used battery recycling technology.

A Ministry of SMEs and Startups official said, "The 20 companies finally selected will receive up to 200 million KRW in commercialization costs, as well as continuous support for growth such as loans, guarantees, and preferential treatment in technology development projects."