The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that it will be publicly recruiting participating companies for the 'Top 50 R&D Excellence of SMEs' from Wednesday, June 25 to Friday, July 25.
The '50 Best R&D Achievements by SMEs' is a project that is run to discover and publicize SMEs that have achieved outstanding results through SME R&D and encourage companies to continuously create results. This year marks the third year of the project.
The target of the 50 Best SME R&D Achievements is companies that have successfully completed (average, excellent) or are currently conducting SME R&D projects under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups within the past five years ('20.1. 1 – '24.12. 31), namely: ① 30 companies with excellent economic and technological growth potential, such as increased project sales and high sales growth rate due to excellent technological prowess, ② 10 companies with global-level technological prowess in strategic technologies such as semiconductors and displays and energy and environment, ③ 5 companies that have turned crises into opportunities with excellent technological prowess, and ④ 5 companies that solve public and social problems through innovation.
All selected companies will be given the opportunity to receive benefits in various support areas, including finance and R&D.
Companies selected as the top 50 companies for excellence can receive reduced interest rates (2%p↓) on low-interest commercialization funds from dedicated banks (IBK, Hana) and preferential participation in the investment capacity enhancement program of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and Information of Small and Medium Businesses to ensure continuous performance creation.
In addition, we provide various benefits such as support for companies' global expansion, such as participation in famous overseas exhibitions and academic conferences, support for entry into the IBK Industrial Bank of Korea job portal (i-ONE JOB), and preferential treatment when participating in follow-up R&D.
Lastly, to enhance the pride of the selected companies as excellent performing companies, the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award is given and a plaque is provided to the company indicating that it has been selected as one of the top 50 excellent performing companies.
In 2024, 336 companies applied, recording a competition rate of 6.7 to 1. This is a 97.6% increase compared to the 170 companies that applied in 2023, which shows that companies' interest in the business is increasing year by year.
'SC Co., Ltd., selected in 2024, achieved a 12% domestic market share and KRW 70.4 billion in project sales based on performance through commercialization technology development projects, and is an excellent small and medium-sized enterprise that dreams of growing into one of the top 3 domestic automotive wire companies occupying more than 15% of the domestic market by 2026 by attracting a total investment of KRW 4.3 billion from the Technology Guarantee Fund, the Small and Medium Business Administration, and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea.
Innospace Co., Ltd. completed the development of a hybrid rocket propulsion system for the first time in Korea through the Startup Growth Technology Development Project, commercialized it, and succeeded in the Hanbit-TLV flight test in 2023. It is a strategic technology company that is expected to leap forward as a global space mobility company through its first commercial launch of a small satellite launch vehicle in the second half of 2025 after being listed on KOSDAQ in July 2024.
Bitsensing Co., Ltd. is an excellent company that has attracted 63 billion won in investment through the Startup Growth Technology Development Project for developing high-performance radar for ADAS/autonomous driving that complements the limitations of existing cognitive sensors. It has participated in the construction of intelligent transport systems (ITS) in Italy and Central Asia, and is expected to become a leading global ITS company by advancing into India and establishing a Luxembourg corporation in 2025.
Park Yong-soon, Director General of Technology Innovation Policy, said, “Performance and innovation through R&D by SMEs are key factors that determine the future of SMEs, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will not spare policy support to create a technology ecosystem that connects excellent technological capabilities to technology commercialization.”
Companies wishing to participate in the 50 Best R&D Achievements for Small and Medium Enterprises contest can apply for the project on the website of the Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Development Project Comprehensive Management System. For more detailed information, please refer to the notices on the website of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the website of the Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Development Project Comprehensive Management System.
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