CJ Launches 'CIAT' Startup Support Program in Collaboration with Ministry of SMEs and Startups and 창진원

Jilkeun Jeong, Vice President of CJ CheilJedang (right), and Yongmun Kim, President of the Startup Promotion Agency (left), are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement for the 'Seed Program.' Photo by CJ

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] CJ is collaborating with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (hereinafter referred to as Kised) to support the growth of startups.

On the 13th, CJ announced that it signed a related business agreement with Kised ahead of the full-scale launch of the startup nurturing project "CIAT (CJ Innovation and Advanced Tech)".

The CIAT program, meaning to be the seed for startup growth and bear fruit, is a project where six major CJ affiliates, including CJ CheilJedang, CJ Logistics, and CJ ENM, select and nurture startups in the growth stage (3 to 7 years since founding).

The application fields are three areas: ▲ Food Tech ▲ Logistics & Commerce ▲ Entertainment & Media, with 28 core tasks presented under the main theme of Digital Transformation. Subsequently, 10 startups will be selected and provided with up to 300 million KRW in commercialization support funds per team, along with mentoring linked to CJ affiliates' businesses.

Additionally, at the 'Demo Day' where business performance and plans are introduced, investment attraction will be supported, and opportunities for investment linkage will be provided through collaboration with The Invention Lab, Krypton, Big Bang Angels, Company D, and others. In particular, global expansion will be actively supported in connection with CJ's overseas local business sites (USA, China, Japan, Vietnam, etc.).

Applications can be submitted through the startup support portal K-Startup until the 28th of this month, and detailed information can be found in the recruitment announcement for the 'Startup Leap Package - Large Corporation Collaboration Program' on the website.

CJ will complete the selection by mid-next month after the application deadline this month and support the concretization of the selected companies' businesses from September to March next year. Following the Demo Day in April, active follow-up support is also expected.

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