Opening of the 'Youth Food Startup Center' at Iksan National Food Cluster

Total Floor Area 9,329㎡, 1 Basement Floor and 4 Above-Ground Floors
Complex and Product Commercialization Support Center, Fostering Prospective Entrepreneurs

On the 21st, Iksan City in Jeonbuk announced the opening of the 'Youth Food Startup Center' in the National Food Cluster Industrial Complex.

About 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including Deputy Mayor Kang Young-seok, Kim Jong-gu, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Kim Jong-hoon, Deputy Governor of Jeonbuk Province for Economic Affairs, Kim Deok-ho, Chairman of the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency, and representatives of youth startup companies.

On the 21st, the 'Youth Food Startup Center' within the National Food Cluster Industrial Complex located in Iksan City, Jeonbuk, opened its doors. Provided by Iksan City

The Youth Food Startup Center was established to discover and nurture promising prospective entrepreneurs in the food sector and to support stable commercialization and business advancement through customized support for early-stage startups.

The facility covers a total floor area of 9,329㎡, with one basement floor and four above-ground floors, featuring a complex support center and a product support center connected in an 'L' shape. The complex support center is designed for the convenience of entrepreneurs and includes ▲information resource room ▲conference rooms ▲company offices ▲dormitories. The product support center houses ▲rental factories ▲prototype production rooms, among others.

The Youth Food Startup Center is composed of spaces that support all stages of entrepreneurship, from education to providing commercialization spaces and prototype production. Accordingly, synergistic effects are expected through linkage with the 'Youth Food Startup Growth Support Project' conducted by the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency.

The 'Youth Food Startup Growth Support Project' is a food-specialized startup support program that provides education, prototype production, and investment attraction opportunities to young people aspiring to start businesses in the food sector. From 2017 to last year, a total of 261 teams were supported. Among them, 172 teams successfully launched startups, released new products, and filed 685 cases of intellectual property rights related to startup and commercialization.

Jung Heon-yul, Mayor of Iksan, stated, "I hope that young people with ideas and technical skills will play a key role in promoting innovative growth in the food industry at the Youth Food Startup Center." He added, "We will do our best to make Iksan a leading city for youth startups by linking with Iksan Youth City Hall and the Green Bio Venture Campus."