Public Recruitment for Private Operators of Youth Startup Academy

Recruiting 11 Specialized Institutions with Startup Commercialization Support Capabilities
Separately Recruiting 1 Private-Led Institution Responsible for Student Selection to Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Small and Medium Business Corporation (Chairman Kim Hak-do, hereinafter referred to as SBC) announced on the 14th that it will publicly recruit private operators to run the Youth Startup Academy.

The Youth Startup Academy is a project that selects young entrepreneurs with promising startup items and innovative technologies and supports all stages in a package, from prototype production to commercialization and follow-up support.

The recruitment regions include 11 locations: Seoul, Northern Gyeonggi, Incheon, Gangwon, Chungbuk, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, and Jeju. Eligible applicants are private companies (organizations), universities, public institutions, and others capable of supporting the commercialization of early-stage youth startups.

Private operators will run startup commercialization support programs such as specialized education, business coaching, and networking. This year, the Youth Startup Academy will operate focusing on region-specific specialized fields. For example, Seoul will focus on investment attraction, Chungbuk on bio-health and intelligent IT components, and Daegu on digital medical healthcare and high-efficiency energy systems.

In particular, SBC plans to newly introduce a privately-led Youth Startup Academy in Daejeon this year and nurture young entrepreneurs operating businesses in non-metropolitan areas, where startup infrastructure is lacking compared to the metropolitan area, into unicorn companies representing their regions.

The private operator of the Daejeon Youth Startup Academy can directly select entrants and is also responsible for investment. It will operate as an investment-specialized type, providing investment capability enhancement education and coaching programs, and taking charge of everything from direct investment to linked investment.

Eligible applicants are companies or institutions with investment resources and startup commercialization support capabilities, such as startup planners or early-stage fund operators. Companies located in the Daejeon area or specializing in ICT and new industries will be given preference during evaluation. Detailed information on the recruitment announcement and eligibility can be found on the K-Startup website and others.

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