The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “KIBO”) announced on the 21st that it will implement the “BIRD (Bridge for Innovative R&D) Program,” a public-private matching capital-based program that supports the entire research and development (R&D) cycle of small and medium-sized venture companies, in cooperation with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “KIBO”).
The BIRD program is an excellent innovation support model of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and aims to increase the R&D performance creation and success rate of SMEs by continuously providing R&D funds in stages. Since first introducing this program in 2023, Kibo has supported a total of 136 companies with 27.2 billion won in guarantees, 23.4 billion won in subsidies, and 2 billion won in guarantee-linked investments through collaboration with KIBO.
This program consists of three stages, and R&D funding is provided for each stage. In the first stage (Pre-R&D), Kibo provides up to KRW 200 million in guarantees, and in the second stage (R&D), Kibo provides up to KRW 500 million in contributions. In the third stage (Post-R&D), Kibo provides up to KRW 3 billion in guarantees, and through this, it supports the entire process from R&D to commercialization of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Kibo selects 90 companies in the first stage through the process of “Business Announcement → Preliminary Review → 1st Document Evaluation → 2nd Expert Review Committee → 3rd Final Technology Evaluation”, and the selected companies will receive various support. In the second stage, 60 companies will be selected, and in the third stage, along with support for commercialization funds, they will also be provided with preferential benefits for pre-diagnosis evaluation for KOSDAQ technology special listing.
The target of support is companies with recent sales of 2 billion won or more and a technology business evaluation grade of 'BB' or higher, and the technology business evaluation grade will be confirmed in the final evaluation of the first stage. Companies wishing to participate can apply on the Kibo website from April 7 to 18, and the selection evaluation will be conducted in June and July.
Kim Jong-ho, CEO of Kibo, said, “The BIRD program is a performance-creating R&D support system based on public-private matching capital, and it supports the entire process from R&D to commercialization of small and medium-sized enterprises with national strategic technologies.” He added, “Kibo will continue to expand cooperation with related organizations to contribute to the successful commercialization of innovative technologies and the activation of the private-sector-led technology commercialization ecosystem.”
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