'Everyone's Startup' to Solve Social Problems: Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects 100 in Document Review
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- 2026-08-28 15:09:32
- Updated
- 2026-08-28 15:09:32
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 28th, the program is designed to identify founders who can solve social problems such as gaps in community care, jobs, energy costs, productivity among small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners, and waste through innovative technologies or ideas, and nurture them into social ventures.
A total of 1,788 applicants, including 905 prospective founders and 883 startups, applied for the open call held from July 30 to August 19, resulting in a competition rate of 17.9 to 1.
Based on the proposals submitted by applicants, the ministry evaluated the specificity and necessity of the social problems they aimed to solve, the appropriateness of their solutions, and their social value. It selected 33 prospective founders and 67 startups.
Outstanding proposals included care behavior recognition and data building based on Vision AI, management of existing facilities using patch-type AI, and river waste treatment using satellite imagery and AI.
Those who passed the document review will receive 2 million won in support for impact activities.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to select about 40 teams after presentation evaluations on the 10th and 11th of next month, and provide intensive mentoring worth 5 million won per person to help refine solutions, review field applicability, and make use of public data.
At a public presentation evaluation to be held in December during the '2026 Venture Week,' the ministry will choose the final 10 or so teams and provide up to 150 million won in commercialization funding.
No Yongseok, Vice Minister I of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "We will spare no policy support so that founders challenging social problems can leap forward as social ventures with both innovation and growth potential."
[email protected] Kim Hyun-cheol Reporter