Ministry of SMEs and Startups Announces Recruitment for Youth Startup Academy Entrants

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is selecting young startup companies that possess startup items and innovative technologies.

On the 14th, the Ministry announced the public notice for the ‘2024 Startup Success Package Support Project.’

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The Startup Success Package Support Project consists of the ‘Youth Startup Academy,’ which selects young entrepreneurs with excellent startup items and innovative technologies and provides comprehensive support for all processes necessary for startups, and the ‘Global Startup Academy,’ which selects entrepreneurs aiming for global expansion and provides intensive customized incubation programs using global incubation institutions (accelerators).

The Youth Startup Academy offers education and mentoring programs in 18 regions nationwide. It also provides comprehensive support for startup programs, including up to 100 million KRW in commercialization funds and investment attraction support.

The eligibility criteria are companies with representatives aged 39 or younger and within three years of establishment (including prospective startups). This year, 850 young startup companies are planned to be selected.

Among the 18 locations, 13 are operated directly by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (5 locations) or operated by entrusting education and mentoring programs to private institutions (8 locations). These 13 locations focus on selecting companies engaged in the main industries and new industry sectors of the regions where the Youth Startup Academy is located.

The remaining 5 locations are ‘private-led’ Youth Startup Academies where private startup planners (accelerators) with direct investment functions are responsible for investment attraction and incubation.

Young entrepreneurs nationwide can apply; however, applications to the ‘private-led’ Youth Startup Academies in the metropolitan area are restricted to young entrepreneurs located in the metropolitan and Gangwon regions to prevent concentration in the metropolitan area and to promote regional balanced development.

The Global Startup Academy (1 location, Seoul) provides up to 150 million KRW in commercialization funds and investment attraction support, as well as intensive customized incubation programs by country of expansion using global incubation institutions (accelerators) such as Plug and Play.

The eligibility criteria are startups within seven years of establishment that operate in ultra-gap and new industry sectors and wish to enter the global market. This year, 60 companies are planned to be selected.

Im Jeong-wook, Director of the Startup Venture Innovation Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “We will support young startup companies, which are key to leading the future of our economy through job creation and economic innovation, by collecting diverse field opinions and providing customized policy support so that they can grow into global companies expanding worldwide.”

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