18,000 Ideas Submitted to "Startup for Everyone" Project... Rapid Review Results to Be Announced Starting May 8

Within just over a month since the launch of the "Startup for Everyone" project promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, more than 18,000 ideas have been submitted.

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According to the Ministry, as of April 29, a total of 18,143 ideas have been submitted to the Startup for Everyone platform. During the last week of April alone, more than 5,000 people applied. Idea submissions began on March 26 and will continue until May 15. The cumulative number of visitors has reached approximately 880,000.

The proportion of applicants from non-metropolitan areas increased by 1.9 percentage points from the previous week, reaching 49.2%. By age group, the submission breakdown is as follows: people in their 30s accounted for 27.7%, those in their 20s or younger for 35.8%, people in their 40s for 21.2%, those in their 50s for 11.0%, and people aged 60 or older for 4.3%.

An official from the Ministry commented, "Recently, around 1,000 ideas are being submitted per day, indicating a spreading trend. We hope to see even more ideas submitted." The official added, "Forty-nine organizations have begun the rapid review and selection process, and results are expected to begin emerging in the latter part of next week."

Decisions regarding similar or duplicate ideas will be left to the discretion of the incubation organizations. The official explained, "Even if ideas are similar, how the business is executed can differ, and evaluations will be made as much as possible according to the standards of each incubation organization. As participants develop detailed business plans, we expect differentiating factors to emerge."

The Ministry selected 41 organizations (12 in the metropolitan area and 29 in non-metropolitan areas) for general and technology sectors, and 8 organizations for the local sector, as rapid review incubation organizations. The first round of rapid review results will be announced on May 8, and subsequent results will be announced sequentially from May 9 onward.

Additionally, the Ministry plans to establish a collaborative system between universities participating as operating agencies and local universities, allowing them to jointly use infrastructure, incubation, and promotional resources. Currently, 7 universities have formed consortia with 13 other universities.

The Ministry will also support the 5,000 people who pass the first screening by providing access to AI solutions that can help validate their ideas. A total of 370 companies have applied to participate with 547 AI solutions, and among them, 282 companies will provide 406 solutions.

The Startup for Everyone project is a talent cultivation platform that offers anyone with an idea the opportunity to launch a startup. Participants can receive coaching from over 100 incubation organizations-including universities and accelerators-and from a mentor group of more than 500 experienced entrepreneurs. The final winner will receive funding of more than KRW 1 billion and will be linked to follow-up growth programs aimed at global expansion. Starting in June, the Ministry will begin accepting applications for the "second Startup for Everyone" round, based on a supplementary budget of KRW 200 billion secured for this purpose.

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