Announcement of the 2019 Startup Growth R&D Support Project
A total of KRW 373.3 billion in support, a 33% increase from 2018.
Expanding support programs, including funding, sales channels, and consulting.

This year, the largest-ever support for R&D startups is expected.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the '2019 Startup Growth Technology Development Project' and will begin accepting applications on the 14th, providing various startup R&D support throughout the year.

The 2019 Startup Growth Technology Development Project, which aims to revitalize the innovative growth of startups, will receive a record-breaking KRW 373.3 billion in funding, an increase of KRW 93.3 billion from the previous year.

It consists of KRW 106.8 billion for the Stepping Stone Startup Project to Expand the Base, KRW 100.6 billion for the private sector-led innovation project, and KRW 123.2 billion for the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups, which provides support for R&D funds, etc. to companies invested in by accelerators).

The 2019 Startup Growth Technology Development Project will establish a foundation for high-performance creation by promoting ▲market- and private-sector-led project support, ▲linked support for successful commercialization of R&D results, and ▲innovation in selection and evaluation methods.


Target of market- and private-sector-led project support and a significant increase in the amount of support
A total of KRW 224.1 billion will be provided to market-selected, innovative startups, including those receiving private investment or with proven technologies. This represents a KRW 108.3 billion increase from the previous year. The proportion of market-driven projects in the total project size has significantly increased from 43% last year to 62% this year.

We will expand the scope of recommendation agencies for companies attracting private investment from angel investment organizations to include purely private startup incubation organizations, thereby strengthening support linked to private investment. We will also expand the scope of support for companies already proven in the market from technology transfer and spin-off companies to include companies with excellent Technology Credit Bureau (TCB) ratings, university technology holding companies, and in-house ventures.
The scale of TIPS support and the number of operating companies (accelerators) will also be expanded from KRW 80.5 billion in 2018 to KRW 123.5 billion in 2019, and the number of companies will be expanded from 44 to 54, in an effort to stimulate private sector-linked investment.

By utilizing the market selection function to support projects with high commercialization potential, the R&D support limit and period will be expanded from the previous maximum of KRW 200 million for one year to a maximum of KRW 400 million for two years. The TIPS program will remain at 500 million won for two years as before.


Expanding support for successful commercialization of R&D results
We support smooth technology development and commercialization of well-trained startups by linking various startup support projects before and after R&D support.

We provide follow-up R&D support to startups that have demonstrated excellent performance in startup support programs such as the Startup Leading University program, and for projects where simultaneous support with R&D is effective (such as in-house venture programs), we provide package support. In addition, we will strengthen the support system for 'start-up-R&D-commercialization' by providing support for commercialization funds, attracting follow-up investment, and supporting sales channels after technology development.

In particular, we will effectively support commercialization by expanding projects linked to R&D from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' startup support project to support projects from relevant ministries.

To support commercialization, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide R&D support to companies with a technology credit rating (TCB) above a certain level, and commercial banks will provide technology financing commercialization funds with preferential interest rates to support the linkage between technology development and commercialization.
Additionally, we work with the Korean Intellectual Property Office to provide pre- and post-grant consulting support to R&D companies to acquire strategic patents.


Innovation in R&D selection and evaluation
A notable change from last year is that the existing task selection committee's uniform, face-to-face evaluation method has been diversified, and the expertise of the evaluation committee members has been increased to support tasks with a high potential for generating results.

In the case of recommended projects through market screening, projects are carefully selected through an evaluation method in which evaluation committee members visit the company site and engage in in-depth discussions. In addition, a project selection method was introduced that evaluates technological and business feasibility by utilizing the Technology Guarantee Fund's technology evaluation system and know-how.

In addition to the method of assigning evaluators according to technology classification, recent papers, patents, andWe are also aiming to introduce a big data-based automatic recommendation system for evaluators that can reflect the activities of the Moon administration in the second half of this year.

Kim Young-tae, Director General of Technology Talent Policy, stated, “We have innovated the support system and significantly expanded the scale of support centered on the market and the private sector to provide practical help to innovative startups,” and “We will continue to pursue institutional improvements so that startup R&D support can serve as a foundation for startups to grow into unicorns.”

Meanwhile, business details related to the Startup Growth Technology Development Project can be found on the website of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (www.mss.go.kr), the Small and Medium Business Technology Development Comprehensive Management System (www.smtech.go.kr), and the Small and Medium Business Technology Information Promotion Agency website (www.tipa.or.kr).

You can also inquire at the Small and Medium Business Integrated Call Center (1357) or through KakaoTalk Plus Friend “1357 Small and Medium Business Integrated Call Center (http://pf.kakao.com/_IIfqd).”