The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 11th it will push the "Challenge IR Project" to support innovative founders in securing their first-ever investment.
The "Challenge IR Project" is a program that consolidations founders and investment firms, helping those with strong technology and ideas but few investment networks and little information, which makes it hard to secure investment opportunities. Those eligible are technology founders and prospective founders with concrete business plans who have never raised investment from institutional investors.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), together with 142 TIPS operators, plans to hold more than 300 in-person investor relations (IR) sessions within the year. TIPS operators will run their own IR in various formats, including one-on-one meetings and open pitching. Each operator will hold IR sessions twice, in Oct. and Nov. Founders can submit investment proposals for Oct. IR participation through the "Challenge IR Platform" starting at 9 a.m. on the 15th. Operators will review applicant corporations and select companies to join the in-person IR, then share the results.
IR linked to the "Startup for All Project" will also proceed. IR opportunities will be offered to 500 startup talents who advanced to round 2 of the general and technology tracks, and, through recommendations from incubating institutions, they will be consolidated with suitable TIPS operators.
IR by region and sector will also be expanded. The "Welcome to TIPS," linked to regional startup festivals, will be expanded from the existing five major regions—greater Seoul, southeast, Chungcheong, Honam, and Daegyeong—to the three special regions (North Jeolla, Gangwon, Jeju). Outstanding corporations will also be given priority selection opportunities for the "Pre-TIPS" support program.
Together with the four institutes of science and technology, "Startup City IR" will be held in Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Ulsan, and meetings between faculty and student founders recommended by the institutes and TIPS operators will also be supported. The "K-Startup of the Year IR" and IR linked to ministry-specific support programs in defense, media, maritime, and R&D will also be pursued.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and TIPS operators plan to continue follow-up support through year-end, including additional investment talks and in-depth IR for outstanding corporations after the IR sessions.
No Yong-seok, first vice minister at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "We will lower the first hurdle to fundraising through the 'Challenge IR Project' so that promising founders do not stop challenging themselves just because they cannot meet investors."