Venture Companies Growing Through Sales to Be Fostered as Unicorns by the Government

Recruitment of Companies for Baby Unicorn Support Program
Targeting Companies with Annual Sales of KRW 20 Billion to 60 Billion

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will begin accepting applications for the "Baby Unicorn Support Program: Profit-Growth Track" for venture companies that are growing based on sales and profits without attracting external investment, starting from July 1.

The "Profit-Growth Track" is a new support program designed to discover outstanding venture companies with solid sales and profits, and to foster them into "Venture Cheonok Companies" (venture companies with annual sales of over KRW 100 billion).

Eligible applicants are venture companies that have no investment record (less than KRW 2 billion), are in the growth stage beyond the initial startup phase (between 4 and 10 years old), and have annual sales between KRW 20 billion and KRW 60 billion. Selected companies can receive up to KRW 300 million in innovation funds for digital transformation (DX) and AI transformation (AX), as well as up to KRW 5 billion in special guarantees. In addition, companies will be matched with experts in each field (Unicorn Supporters) and will be able to utilize a package of follow-up support, including customized global growth strategies, export, and marketing assistance.

Kim Bongdeok, Director of Venture Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Tailored support is also needed for 'profit-growth venture companies' that are growing based on their own sales and profits without significant investment attraction," and added, "Through this program, we will actively support profit-growth venture companies so that they can grow into Venture Cheonok Companies."