Selected 100 Promising SMEs for 'Jump' as Global Mid-sized Companies

Final Selection of 100 Companies for the ‘Jump-Up Program’ Completed

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 23rd that it has finalized the selection of 100 companies to support under the ‘Jump-Up Program,’ which is being fully implemented starting this year. This program aims to comprehensively and systematically support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in entering new businesses and new markets, enabling them to scale up into mid-sized companies.

A total of 620 SMEs applied for this inaugural project, and to carefully select only those with excellent growth potential, a two-stage evaluation process was conducted over approximately three months by top-level experts in management, investment, and technology fields.

First, the first-stage evaluation focused on the technology and business feasibility of the applicants through a document review of submitted business plans and on-site inspections, selecting companies with outstanding capabilities in the initial round. Then, for the companies that passed the first stage, a second-stage absolute evaluation was conducted, where the companies presented their new business and new market entry strategies, followed by in-depth discussions by field experts, ultimately selecting 100 companies with high growth potential.

Among the 100 selected SMEs, as of the end of 2023, the average sales growth rate compared to the previous year was 13.4%, total asset growth rate was 9.8%, and operating profit margin was 5.7%. These figures are 13.4 percentage points, 6.5 percentage points, and 1.7 percentage points higher, respectively, than those of general manufacturing SMEs. Additionally, 97% hold patents, and as of the end of 2023, they invested 3.4 times more in research and development (R&D) costs compared to general manufacturing SMEs.

Notably, 83% exported an average of 12.41 million USD as of the end of 2023, 41% successfully attracted private investment, and 10% are companies that have succeeded in listing on the KOSDAQ, proving their competitiveness in both global markets and private investment markets.

Especially, companies preparing for new leaps without hesitation in challenges and innovation were selected from various fields, including a medical device manufacturer that holds the world’s number one market share through steady R&D and bold overseas market expansion, a food processing company rapidly growing to 80 billion KRW in sales by improving its business model in a declining industry, and an IT company that won the ‘CES Innovation Award’ for its AI sign language translation service.

The 100 companies finally selected this time will be comprehensively and systematically supported for the next three years to boldly challenge new businesses and new markets and grow stably. First, a one-team system composed of professional managers, global consulting firms, and research institutes will provide management mentoring, scale-up strategy formulation, and technology roadmap development necessary for entering new businesses and new markets.

Additionally, each selected company will be issued an open voucher worth 250 million KRW annually, up to 750 million KRW over three years. Furthermore, various policies such as loans, guarantees, R&D, policy funds, export finance, and smart factories will be linked to support the challenges and innovations of the selected companies.

Minister Oh Young-joo stated, “There are many SMEs that can leap to become global mid-sized companies with just a little help, and the policy that selects these companies and supports them through joint efforts by the government and the private sector is the ‘Jump-Up Program.’ “We will continuously communicate closely with all 100 selected SMEs and provide hands-on support so that they can grow solidly and stably and invigorate our economy.”