The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 4th it selected 1,100 entrants for round two of the "1st Startup for All Project."
The entrants were chosen from 5,000 first-round candidates out of a total of 63,000 applicants after incubation and evaluation. Five hundred were selected in the general/technology track and 600 in the local track. About two months after starting their challenge, some participants already reported business results such as attracting investment and filing patents.
Of those selected, 64.9% were young people age 39 or under. Ages ranged widely from 15, the youngest, to 72, the oldest. The 15-year-old participant proposed a platform that collects and analyzes curated reviews to design rural travel itineraries and pursued a patent filing. The 72-year-old participant in Andong, North Gyeongsang, developed a vitality stick using low-marketability apples and worked on securing intellectual property rights and conducting consumer research.
Those selected from outside the Seoul metropolitan area accounted for 80.9% of the total. By region, Yeongnam was the largest at 27.9%, followed by Chungcheong at 20.1%, Honam at 19.1%, Gangwon at 9.4%, and Jeju at 4.4%. In the general/technology track, IT made up the largest share at 36.2%, followed by bio/medical at 15.8% and lifestyle at 10.8%. Keywords related to artificial intelligence (AI) appeared in 43.2% of all challenge applications. In the local track, lifestyle was 45%, food and beverage (F&B) 38.8%, and beauty 9.7%.
There were also cases of attracting investment. A participant in Seoul secured 200 million won from CNTTech after the growth potential of the AI operations management field was recognized. A participant in Gwangju raised 100 million won from the Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation based on coreless motor technology and is also pursuing linkage with TIPS, a technology startup support program.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will provide the 1,100 with early-stage commercialization funds, mentoring, regulatory checks, advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), partnership guarantees, and investment attraction support. Starting on the 7th, it will hold nationwide briefings and regional/area auditions to select a final 200 in December.
The "Startup for All Community," which shares startup experience and information, will also launch on the 10th. Senior founders including Jang Min-hong of CarbonBlack Partners and Lee Dong-geon, CEO of My Real Trip, will participate to share lessons learned from the startup process.
Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "This Startup for All Project is a meaningful project that proved anyone in the public can take on entrepreneurship with everyday ideas and a sense of problem-solving, even without technology or credentials," adding, "We will spare no effort to help the selected talent grow into innovative corporations competitive in the market, and we will work to spread a startup culture where anyone can freely take on a challenge."