Kibo, 48 Companies Selected for R&D-Linked BIRD Program Financing

Selected in Various Fields Including Bio and Semiconductor Fabless

The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Chairman Kim Jong-ho, hereinafter referred to as Kibo) announced on the 31st that it has selected a total of 48 companies through three rounds of evaluation related to the '2023 BIRD Program' linked to research and development (R&D) loans, which was announced in March this year.

This program is a collaboration between Kibo and the Small and Medium Business Technology Information Promotion Agency (SMBA) to support step-by-step R&D funding so that the R&D achievements of SMEs can quickly lead to commercialization, resulting in tangible outcomes and increased success rates.

Kibo and SMBA provide support in three stages to revitalize a private-led innovation ecosystem. In this project, many excellent technology SMEs with sales of over 5 billion KRW and exports exceeding 1 million USD applied, and 48 companies were selected for the first stage.

The average business experience of the companies finally selected in the first stage is 13 years, the average sales amount is 17.2 billion KRW, the average number of employees is 54, and the average export amount is 3.87 million USD. Kibo’s technology and business evaluation grades were led by 15 companies (31.2%) with an A grade, followed by 9 companies (18.8%) with BBB grade, and 7 companies (14.6%) with BBB+ grade.

By industry, 12 companies (25%) are in the machinery sector, 11 companies (22%) in the electrical and electronics sector, 12 companies (25%) in the chemical, materials, and bio sector, and 13 companies (28%) in the IT and telecommunications sector, showing a balanced selection across technology fields. Strategically supported sectors such as semiconductor fabless (2 companies) and bio (4 companies) were also selected.

Kibo plans to provide the first-stage selected companies with benefits through this special program, including ▲ 200 million KRW guarantee support for development planning funds ▲ increased guarantee ratio (85% → 100%) ▲ fixed guarantee fee rate application (1%) ▲ priority recommendation for investment screening for companies that wish to apply.

Kim Jong-ho, Chairman of Kibo, said, "The BIRD program is an innovative project that promotes high-growth scale-up of technology SMEs through full-cycle R&D support linked to loans and grants," adding, "Going forward, Kibo will expand collaborative projects with related organizations and strengthen support for promising growth companies to lead the creation of a private-led innovation growth ecosystem."

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