The "2026 agri-food tech startup accelerator development support project (Fast Track Program)" operated by CNTTech is backing agri-food startups in attracting investment and entering domestic and overseas markets. As an accelerator program specialized in the agri-food sector, it supports the entire growth process of promising agri-food startup corporations and is focusing on revitalizing the agri-food startup ecosystem.
The Fast Track Program is an agri-food specialized accelerating program hosted and organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and The Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT) and operated by CNTTech. Aimed at promising agri-food startup corporations established within seven years and prospective founders, it supports end-to-end growth from sourcing and diagnosing corporations, tailored education and one-on-one mentoring, networking with large and mid-sized corporations and investment institutions, demo day, value-up, to direct investment and follow-on fundraising.
For selected corporations, the program is reviewing direct investments totaling more than 7 billion won, and for corporations that secure investment, it also helps secure research and development and policy funds by linking recommendations to TIPS and LIPS.
CNTTech has been selected as the operator for six consecutive years since 2021 and has discovered and nurtured promising agri-food startups every year. This year, it selected 15 corporations, and from 2021 through last year, it supported a total of 64 corporations.
It executed cumulative direct investments totaling 8 billion won for corporations participating in the Fast Track. By supporting the linkage of TIPS and Deep-tech TIPS for directly invested corporations, it achieved the result of 28 corporations being selected to date. The 15 participating corporations last year secured a total of 6 billion won in follow-on investments, and the total sales of participating corporations also increased 37.8% from the previous year.
Corporations that grew through the program are also following one after another. Join&Join, which operates the vegan dessert brand "Neoldam," was discovered through the program in 2021 and received support for direct investment as well as research and development (R&D), facility expansion, and prototype production. Based on mentoring and investment attraction support, it achieved annual sales of 33 billion won last year.
"Lobus," a corporation specializing in AI-based agricultural intellectual property (IP) transaction and management solutions, participated in last year's program and received support including direct investment and investment-attraction linkage, tailored mentoring for overseas expansion, and corporate promotion. Focusing on the United States and Mexico, it pursued the commercialization of new varieties and recorded annual sales of 10 billion won in just two years since founding.
CNTTech plans to support the scale-up of technology-based agri-food corporations and work to revitalize the private investment ecosystem. By leveraging agri-food funds and open innovation networks with major food corporations, it aims to establish itself as a leading agri-food investment channel that supports participating corporations in overseas expansion and investment attraction.