"Last Year's 39 to 1 Competition Rate"... Launch of the 'Strong Small Business Owners' Support Project

Ministry of SMEs Selects 350 Candidate Companies
Selected Teams Receive Up to 100 Million KRW Commercialization Funding

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is recruiting companies to participate in the 'Strong Small Business Growth Support Project' to support small business owners with creative ideas.

This project supports small business owners to grow into entrepreneurial small business owners by collaborating with partner companies to develop differentiated products and services. In its first year last year, 1,324 teams applied, recording a high competition rate of 38.9 to 1 based on the first selection of 34 people.

This year, the number of selected participants and fields of participation have been expanded. The number of candidate companies selected will increase from 100 last year to 350 this year. The scale of companies selected in the first and second auditions will also expand to 105 and 30 companies, respectively.

Last year, applications were accepted from partner types such as creators, startups, and small business owners who wanted to collaborate, but this year, in addition to partner types, applicants can choose from three growth tracks: ① Lifestyle ② Local Brand ③ Global.

Companies selected as candidates will receive funding for team building and education. Companies selected in the first audition will receive 60 million KRW for business model advancement, and companies finally selected in the second audition will receive an additional 40 million KRW in commercialization funds for scale-up. Companies that passed the first audition but failed the second audition last year can re-challenge the second audition.

Specialized small business development institutions such as Sejong Creative Economy Innovation Center, Local Brand Forum, Small Business Hope Foundation, Jeju Creative Economy Innovation Center, and N15 Partners will participate. These institutions will provide follow-up support such as incubation space, networking, and direct and indirect investment to participating companies by utilizing the infrastructure they possess.

Detailed information can be found on the official website of the Strong Small Business Growth Support.