The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said that applicants for the second round of the Everyone's Startup Project topped 10,000 on the 3rd, 15 days after recruitment began.
In the first round, applicants surpassed 10,000 in 25 days. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) analyzed that this was the result of heightened public interest in taking on startup challenges.
Regional participation also expanded. Applicants located outside the greater Seoul area accounted for 60% of all applicants, up 17 percentage points from 43% over the same period in the first round.
The 10,000th applicant devised a business based on the experience of not being able to frequently visit a grandmother living in the countryside. The person applied to the second round of the Everyone's Startup Project with a service designed to help single-person households across age groups, including young people and older adults.
The Everyone's Startup Project is a government-supported startup talent development program that allows anyone with an idea to take on a startup challenge. This project will select 10,000 entrepreneurs. Those wishing to participate can apply on the Everyone's Startup platform by the 17th.
Cho Kyung-won, startup policy director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "In response to the intense enthusiasm, we will widen the door for challenges and strengthen support so that challenges lead to actual startups and growth," and added, "We will firmly establish this project as a starting point for innovative talent to enter the startup ecosystem."