Ministry of SMEs and Startups Seeks Lead Organizations to Operate TIPS Program

TIPS, Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Representative Startup Support Program
Conducting R&D and Related Project Operations

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 31st that it will recruit new lead organizations to operate the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) program.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a greeting at the 'TIPS Next & Event' held at Raum Art Center in Seoul on the 27th of last month. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

TIPS is a system where operators selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups utilize private sector expertise and capabilities to select startup companies, and the government provides linked support such as research and development (R&D) and startup commercialization funds. More than 3,200 startups that have received support so far have attracted follow-up investments totaling approximately 15 trillion won, making it a representative startup support project of the Ministry.

This selection of lead organizations for TIPS is a follow-up measure to the "TIPS Next Strategy" announced on the 27th of last month. The purpose is to designate institutions with expertise and capabilities as lead organizations to systematically support TIPS companies for the smooth execution of the TIPS project.

Applicants must be private institutions that have a dedicated organization for project execution and possess expertise and capabilities in company evaluation and management, company support, and business incubation. Project proposals and other documents must be submitted through the K-Startup website by 4 p.m. on the 20th of next month.

Applicants will be evaluated through document review, on-site inspection, and presentation evaluation, and institutions with excellent capabilities will be finally selected. The selected lead organizations will perform tasks such as operating TIPS R&D and linked projects, selecting and managing TIPS operators, and running programs for TIPS companies.

Jo Kyung-won, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We will select excellent institutions with the expertise and capabilities to carry out the TIPS project, a representative public-private collaboration project of the Ministry, and systematically support TIPS companies to ensure the smooth progress of the TIPS project.”