The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 7th that it selected 43 collaborative projects in which startup companies and small manufacturers jointly develop products.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is running a program that supports prototype production and commercialization by consolidation of startups with ideas and market planning capabilities and small manufacturers with production capabilities. It provides up to 1 billion won per selected project.
A structure was created in which startup companies and small manufacturers jointly plan products and improve completeness through design refinements. Startup companies can secure reliable manufacturing partners, and small manufacturers can secure new customers and sales channels.
Precision machining, data-based equipment, commercialization of consumer goods, and advancement of manufacturing processes were selected as collaborative projects. Cases linking technology and consumer goods were included, such as hanji packaging using charcoal ink, ice cream based on traditional liquor, a tidal flat driving mobility device, and an intelligent mold system.
By field, the share was high in intelligent and Internet of Things (IoT). Collaboration is taking place across manufacturing, including parts and equipment, bio and health, and food processing. By region, there were many projects in the central and Honam regions, and they were evenly distributed across the non-capital regions, including Daegyeong, Gangwon, and the southeastern region.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to accumulate data on small manufacturers within the "Everyone's Startup" platform in connection with this program and to expand collaborative consolidation between startup companies and manufacturing corporations. The platform first provides basic information such as process areas, materials, and the scope of producible items, and operates in a way that detailed information such as equipment level and precision is shared after corporations are consolidated. It expects to reduce the burden on startups to find partner manufacturers and to create demand for prototype production for small manufacturers.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "This program is the first step in building a collaborative structure in which startup companies and small manufacturers become each other's customers," adding, "The government, as a 'good matchmaker,' will continue to expand a new market that consolidates small corporations and ideas while addressing on-site improvement tasks."