Up to 60 Million Won in Support: 160 Small Businesses Selected in First Round of Strong Small Business Audition

Held from April 28 to May 23
Eligibility Granted for Final Pitching Competition

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on May 29 that it has selected a total of 160 small business owners aiming to grow into 'Licons' through the first round of the Strong Small Business Audition.

The Strong Small Business Growth Support Program is a project that helps promising small businesses in the lifestyle and culture sectors collaborate with creators, startups, and small businesses from other fields to develop products and services that are differentiated from existing offerings. The program provides support in five categories: lifestyle, local brands, long-standing small businesses, global, and online sellers.

The first round of the Strong Small Business Audition took place from April 28 to May 23. Small business owners from a wide range of fields?including traditional market vendors, food manufacturers, agricultural corporations, and fashion and beauty companies?participated in the audition, appealing to judges and the public with the competitiveness of their products and services as well as their potential for growth as companies.

The 160 small businesses selected through the first round will receive up to 60 million won in business development funds to help them grow into Licons by developing their products and services. 'Licon' refers to an innovative company in the lifestyle or local sector that aspires to become a unicorn.

In addition, the selected businesses will be eligible to participate in the 'Strong Small Business Final Pitching Competition,' where they can receive up to an additional 40 million won in business development funds. Starting this year, the Korea Enterprises Federation will also co-host networking events with large corporations, win-win distribution sales exhibitions, and the final audition to support and encourage the challenges of the strong small businesses selected in the first round.

A representative of one of the participating small businesses expressed high expectations, saying, "Until yesterday, I was a vendor selling webfoot octopus in a traditional market, but now I dream of becoming a food company that develops new sauces and exports them worldwide."

Lee Daegun, Director of Small Business Policy, stated, "The companies selected through the first round of the Strong Small Business Audition are new growth engines for Korea, equipped with entrepreneurial spirit and creative ideas, ready to expand globally in the lifestyle and culture sector." He added, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will continue to nurture creative, entrepreneur-type small businesses into companies, and further, help them become Licons?world-class lifestyle innovation companies and local brands."

The final audition, which offers up to 40 million won in business development funds, will be held over four days from August 25 to 28 at Ibex Studio near Gwangmyeong Station.

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