SMEs ministry doubles intake for second startup project

The SMEs ministry said Thursday it will select 10,000 entrepreneurs for the second round of its Everyone's Startup project, twice the first round's 5,000, following record demand in the initial recruitment.

The March recruitment for the first round drew more than 63,000 applicants, the highest turnout for a government entrepreneurship and idea contest. Applicants aged 39 or under made up 68 percent, and regional applicants accounted for 53.4 percent. The ministry said its second-round plan focuses on connecting demand identified in the first project with support for repeat attempts, ventures in diverse fields and subsequent growth.

Of the places, 8,000 are assigned to general and technology tracks and 2,000 to a local track. Eligibility for entrepreneurs restarting a business will expand to those within seven years of restarting, from within three years, while at least 80 percent of places will go to prospective entrepreneurs and at least 70 percent to entrepreneurs outside the capital region.

Applicants not selected in the first round can receive additional points based on whether they complete re-challenge mentoring and improve their ideas. The program will also add a social-venture league for ventures addressing social problems and a global league linked to overseas local accelerators.

Hana Bank, Shinhan Square Bridge and Korea Water Resources Corp. are among the new participating incubation institutions, expanding the network to about 170. The ministry will set formal qualifications for mentors, restrict them to no more than two institutions and organize mentor pools by pre-startup and early stages and by specialist field.

The ministry will strengthen platform security based on an external specialist analysis, improve its personal-data management system and establish regional hubs to oversee local incubation institutions. The ministry will also establish a standing security-check system with external specialist institutions.

"The enthusiasm of more than 60,000 people in the first Everyone's Startup project showed new possibilities for entrepreneurship in our society," Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said.

The second project will begin Aug. 20. The ministry plans to select the 10,000 entrepreneurs in October and link phased incubation and competition programs with support from government ministries and the private sector.