"Fostering Rising Lions"... Ministry of SMEs Selects 201 Strong Small Business Teams

'Strong Small Business Growth Support Project'
210 Teams Finalized Through 1st Audition
Granting Commercialization Funds and Final Audition Eligibility

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 3rd that it has conducted the first audition of the 'Strong Small Business Growth Support Project' and selected 210 teams aspiring to become Raicons. Raicon refers to innovative companies in the lifestyle and local sectors aiming to become unicorns.

The Strong Small Business Growth Support Project helps small business owners collaborate with partner companies such as creators, startups, and small businesses from other industries to develop their own differentiated products and services and grow into larger enterprises. It was established to nurture and support small business owners with growth potential into value-producing companies.

A total of 9,137 companies applied for this project, recording a high competition rate of 43.5 to 1. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected 530 small business teams to participate in the first audition after evaluation and provided capability enhancement programs such as team building and speech skills.

In the subsequent first audition, a total of 210 teams were finally selected after presenting their products and services and receiving excellent evaluations. According to the nurturing type, the teams consist of 50 lifestyle teams, 5 local brand teams, 30 global teams, 20 Baeknyeon Gage (Hundred-Year Store) and small manufacturer teams, and 60 online seller teams.

The 210 selected small business teams will receive commercialization funds of up to 60 million KRW to develop products and services. Along with this, they will also be granted eligibility to participate in the 'Strong Small Business Final Pitching Competition.'

The final audition is scheduled to be held from September 10 to 13 at iVEX Studio in Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi Province. An additional commercialization fund of up to 40 million KRW will be provided.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, emphasized, "The teams selected through this first audition are seeds of innovation equipped with creative ideas that will expand globally in the lifestyle culture sector. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will nurture creative entrepreneurial small business owners into small enterprises and further develop them into Raicons."