Ministry of Environment Hosts '2021 Environmental Startup Competition'... Total Prize Money 108 Million Won

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 29th that it will hold the '2021 Environmental Startup Competition' to support 25 prospective entrepreneurs and startup companies with environmental startup ideas, excellent technology, and business feasibility that can solve climate and environmental issues.

From today until May 14, the Ministry of Environment will select a total of 25 teams in the fields of environmental ideas and environmental startup star companies through a public contest. The selected teams will be awarded a total prize of 108 million KRW. Among them, 15 teams will also be given the opportunity to participate in the joint ministry startup competition (Challenge! K-Startup) hosted by 10 ministries including the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The idea category is divided into the general division and the youth division (aged 19 to under 34), targeting prospective entrepreneurs with startup ideas to solve climate and environmental issues. A total of 12 teams will be selected by evaluating startup capabilities and potential, and will be awarded the Minister of Environment Award and prize money (up to 10 million KRW).

The star company category targets promising environmental startup companies with less than 7 years of business experience. A total of 13 teams will be selected by evaluating technology and marketability, and will be awarded the Minister of Environment Award and prize money (up to 20 million KRW).

All 25 winning teams of the Environmental Startup Competition will receive various follow-up support such as startup support programs. They can receive early-stage startup education to strengthen startup capabilities and advance their business, and various customized programs such as crowd funding support and one-on-one expert consulting will be operated. Additionally, among the 25 teams, the 15 teams with excellent presentation evaluation scores will participate in the joint ministry startup competition 'Challenge! K-Startup' scheduled for November this year to compete for the final championship. The final winning team will receive the Presidential Award and prize money up to 300 million KRW.

Prospective entrepreneurs who wish to participate in this startup competition can apply through the Environmental Startup Competition website. After two rounds of evaluation and presentation contests, the final winning teams will be decided by August this year.

Kim Dong-gu, Director of the Green Transition Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "We hope that many entrepreneurs with environmental ideas and technological capabilities will grow into environmental companies leading the green industry through this contest," and added, "We will continue to develop support policies so that environmental startups can grow as future growth engines of the green industry."

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