KOTEC and Daejeon Join Hands to Strengthen Demonstration and R&D Competitiveness of Innovative Technology Companies

Establishing a Collaborative System
for All-Stage R&D Support
for Local SMEs

On December 11, Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) announced that it will sign a "Mutual Cooperation Agreement for Strengthening Demonstration and R&D Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises in Daejeon Metropolitan City" with the Daejeon Metropolitan Government.

Under the agreement, KOTEC will provide both financial and non-financial support to local innovative growth SMEs, linking technology evaluation, technology guarantees, and investment. The Daejeon Metropolitan Government plans to strengthen the institutional foundation by establishing policies for demonstration R&D support projects and providing demonstration infrastructure.

In addition, both organizations intend to enhance cooperation so that R&D companies in future core strategic technology sectors-such as space and aerospace, biohealth, nano and semiconductors, defense, and robotics-can stably secure the funds needed during the technology development and demonstration stages.

In particular, as a key collaborative project under this agreement, the "Daejeon Customized R&D Linked Support Program (Daejeon-type BIRD Program)" will be newly introduced. This program consists of three stages: ▲ Stage 1: Pre-R&D Guarantee (KOTEC guarantee of 100 million won), ▲ Stage 2: R&D (Daejeon Metropolitan Government grant support of 100 million won), and ▲ Stage 3: Post-R&D Commercialization Fund Guarantee (KOTEC guarantee of up to 3 billion won).

This program is KOTEC's representative all-stage R&D support model. Unlike the existing approach, which provided grants and loans separately, it is designed to support the entire process-from R&D planning and development to demonstration and commercialization-so that technology development can lead to tangible business outcomes for SMEs.

Park Joosun, Executive Director of KOTEC, stated, "Through this agreement, local innovative companies with future strategic technologies will be able to stably secure the funds they need at the demonstration stage and establish a foundation for advancing to the growth stage. KOTEC will continue to expand collaboration with related organizations to strengthen various innovation finance-based R&D commercialization support, and will actively support R&D companies in securing competitiveness and successfully entering the market."

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