'Local Creator' Competition Rate 22 to 1... Discovering Community-Based Entrepreneurs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] This year, the newly established government 'Local Creator Activation Project' saw a large number of applicants from young people in their 20s and 30s, recording a competition rate of 22 to 1. There was great interest in discovering and nurturing local creators who start businesses by combining innovative ideas based on the culture, heritage, and characteristics of the region.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 2nd, a total of 3,096 people applied for the '2020 Regional-Based Local Creator Activation Support Project (Preliminary) Startup Recruitment.' Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the business briefing session was held online, and applications were accepted from February 20 this year until the 26th of last month.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will invest 4.4 billion KRW in the Local Creator Activation Project this year. They plan to discover and nurture about 140 local creators who are within 3 years of preliminary or startup phase (general voucher type) or within 7 years of startup (investment-linked type).

The application rates by region for this Local Creator Activation Project were Seoul 19.3% (596 people), Gyeonggi 13.4% (41 people), Busan 9.5% (293 people), Gyeongbuk 6.3% (194 people), and Daegu 5.9% (183 people). By age group, applicants in their 20s and 30s totaled 1,955 (63.2%), showing strong interest from the younger generation.

This project was newly established to discover and nurture entrepreneurs who create new value in the region by applying innovative ideas to local resources, cultural heritage, geographical and industrial characteristics, and solving regional problems. Funding use and scale are supported in a customized manner according to the growth stage of local creators. Applications were accepted by distinguishing between general vouchers and investment linkage.

The general voucher type supports up to 30 million KRW for preliminary and early-stage entrepreneurs (within 3 years). The investment-linked type provides matching support up to 50 million KRW, at 2.5 times the investment amount, for entrepreneurs (within 7 years) who have attracted investment from private accelerators and venture capital within 2 years.

Yoon Seok-bae, Director of Startup Ecosystem Formation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "This competition rate shows the need for a new startup policy focused on local communities that utilizes the creativity and innovation of startups to solve various regional problems and recreate regional value. Considering the sufficient demand for local creators in the future, we will contribute to revitalizing the regional economy, which has been depressed due to COVID-19, through nurturing policies for industries combining manufacturing and services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.