The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as “MSS”, Minister Lee Young) announced 430 startups as participants for the Stepping Stone Project, one of the sub-projects of the Technological Development Program for Startup Development implemented in the first half of this year, on May 18, 2022.

The number of participants has doubled compared to the previous year (184 in 2021).

The Technological Development Program for Startup Development is prepared to stimulate technology entrepreneurship and the growth of startups by discovering promising startups with growth potential and supporting their R&D.

The eligible applicants of the program are startups younger than 7 years old and have recorded the latest revenue of 2 billion KRW or less.

The Stepping Stone Program is targeting young startups who have not participated in any kind of R&D projects supported by MSS to inject up to 120 million KRW of technology development funds for one year.

There have been 1,943 tasks applied in the first half of 2022, and the winners of the program have finally been selected after going through a thorough evaluation of their technological aspects and feasibility by an R&D Analyzing Group that is organized by the characteristics of each applied technology.

In terms of regional distribution of the selected 430 businesses, it was mostly similar to that of the first half of last year (59.2%) with a little more than half (58.8%) of startups located in the metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, followed by 59 businesses (13.7%) in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, and 46 (10.7%) in the Chungcheong region such as Daejeon,

Daejin Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. (CEO Yoo Seong-joon), a company specializing in industrial special composite materials, announced on the 21st that it will enter Europe in earnest through the selection of a support program by the British government.

Since its establishment in 2019, Daejin Advanced Materials has signed a contract to supply large domestic companies and an exclusive contract to recycle Coca-Cola PET in the Philippines by applying functional nanocarbon composite material and recycled plastic upcycle technology to packaging materials for secondary batteries. Currently, we are solving the fire issue of secondary battery for electric vehicles, and developing and mass-producing related materials and parts for electric vehicles are being carried out.

In 2021, it was selected as a material parts development project worth 13 billion won by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, a global small and medium-sized company, and a baby unicorn 200. It was then selected as the “T-3,” the highest grade of NICE technology evaluation, and is recognized for its technology and innovation capabilities, achieving more than 30 billion won in sales.

The Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP) supported by the UK Ministry of International Trade is a support program operated by the UK’s Ministry of International Trade (DIT) for overseas innovative technology companies. Selected companies can receive very close and detailed support in the overall sectors related to the transfer of the UK, such as expert mentoring, exchanges with other companies in the UK, establishing investor relations through networking, and expanding exports.

So far, Australian travel software company “Seatfrog” and South African genetic diagnostic company “DNAfit” have been selected by GEP, and Daejin Advanced Materials has been selected for the first time among domestic material parts companies.

Unlike general plastics, materials and parts for electric vehicles made of high-tech materials are plastics that have characteristics such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, high mechanical strength, and fire suppression. It is using artificial intelligence technology and patented technology that are being developed in-house to manufacture recycled plastics with high value-added materials and parts that have not been properly used before.

Yoo Seong-joon, CEO of Daejin Advanced Materials, said, “We have laid the foundation for a successful global business through participation in this GEP program,” adding, “It will be of great help in entering the global market and establishing GHQ in the UK in the future.”

“We will actively support government funding projects and connections to investment companies so that Daejin Advanced Materials can expand its business not only in the UK but also throughout Europe through GEP,” said Derek Goodwin, head of the UK’s Ministry of International Trade.

Meanwhile, Daejin Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. was selected as a start-up leap package support project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2021 and is receiving specialized support such as commercialization and mentoring of the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center.

Asia Journal