The government will become the first customer of new-industry startups with outstanding technological capabilities and will accelerate their growth by providing step-by-step support from direct technology demonstration to purchase.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has moved to support the growth of new-industry startups. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), together with the Public Procurement Service, prepared the "government first demonstration and purchase project" and reported it at a Cabinet meeting presided over by the president on the 28th, it said on the 29th. A briefing on the project was also held that day.
The project aims to support the formation of initial markets and the securing of sales channels by having the government and public institutions directly verify the technologies and products of new-industry startups and link them to purchases. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to build a full-cycle support system so that research and development (R&D) outcomes proceed from public demonstration to designation as innovative products, pilot purchases, and overseas demonstrations.
First, the government and public institutions will provide a field-centered demonstration environment based on demand and support collaboration funds. In the first phase in the robotics field, five institutions—the Korean National Police Agency, the Korea Heritage Service, Army Headquarters, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, and the Korea Coast Guard—will participate to promote demonstration collaborations with 20 startups. The second phase will expand into the Smart City field.
In addition, specialized institutions such as KAIST will be designated for each project to ensure smooth collaboration, and top-performing projects will be given additional demonstration opportunities in the following year.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will offer benefits to corporations that succeed in demonstrations, such as exempting the public-interest evaluation when designating innovative products, and will support entry into the public market through negotiated contracts, pilot purchases, and reflecting results in public-institution evaluations. In particular, by linking with the Public Procurement Service's pilot purchase program, it will help ensure that startup products lead to first-time government purchases, and will expand purchases of excellent products to other institutions. Products with insufficient performance will be given opportunities to make improvements and try again.
Support for overseas expansion will proceed in parallel. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will leverage the global network held by the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) to identify overseas demonstration demand, and the Public Procurement Service will provide corporations with overseas demonstration opportunities to help them secure credible track records.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "The government will play a priming role so that new-industry startups can overcome a shortage of initial markets and barriers to entering the public market."