[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Korea Institute of Design Promotion announced on the 26th that it has finalized the selection of 195 beneficiary companies for four projects, including the "Design Innovation Promising Companies Development Project."
The institute supports the utilization of design for companies of various sizes and industries, ranging from startups to small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, service and platform companies, and design-specialized companies.
The recently completed beneficiary selection projects include the Design Innovation Promising Companies Development Project, Manufacturing Companies Design Personnel Support Project, Design Specialized Companies Development Project, and StyleTech Promising Companies Growth Support Program.
Beneficiary companies were selected through multiple evaluation processes such as document review, presentation evaluation, and on-site verification, based on criteria including technological innovation, marketability, and growth potential. This year, all four corporate support projects will be promoted with enhanced support benefits.
With the resumption of major domestic and international exhibitions, which had been subdued due to the impact of COVID-19, the Design Innovation Promising Companies Development Project will expand support for companies' participation in exhibitions to advance into the global market.
The Manufacturing Companies Design Personnel Support Project, which previously supported one designer per company, will now support two designers per company in certain cases starting this year.
Additionally, the Design Specialized Companies Development Project has increased the new product development support fund by 10%, from 20 million KRW to 22 million KRW compared to the previous year. To alleviate management difficulties faced by design-specialized and promising companies due to COVID-19 and to enhance the competitiveness of the design industry, a new financial support service will be launched in cooperation with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation.
For the StyleTech Promising Companies Growth Support Program, E-Land Inno플 and Musinsa Partners have newly joined as open innovation partner large corporations. The program plans to focus on supporting the development of collaborative business models through workshops and meetings with field personnel to discover new services and products for selected companies.
Yoon Sang-heum, President of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, stated, "Design support projects are not simply about providing one-time government funds to companies, but aim to help companies reform their systems so that they can utilize design as a corporate innovation strategy." He added, "After support, we will create a culture where companies feel the effects of design and voluntarily invest in design."
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