The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 18th that it has selected 40 finalists who passed the second-round presentation evaluation for the 'All-Startups: Social Innovation Social Venture League'.
The Social League is a program designed to identify entrepreneurs possessing innovative technologies or ideas capable of addressing urgent social problems in five key areas, and to nurture them into social venture companies.
The five priority challenges are: (1) filling gaps in community care services; (2) expanding employment opportunities and social participation; (3) improving energy costs and efficiency for small businesses and vulnerable groups; (4) enhancing productivity and innovation capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through AI utilization; and (5) promoting resource circulation and resolving waste-related issues.
Applications opened on July 30, drawing a total of 1,788 participants, including 905 prospective entrepreneurs and 883 existing startups. The first-round document evaluation selected 100 applicants with a competition ratio of 17.9 to 1. Subsequently, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups conducted the second-round presentation evaluation on the 10th and 11th of this month, selecting 40 finalists.
The 40 selected participants consist of 11 prospective entrepreneurs and 29 startups with seven years or less of operation. In terms of age distribution, there were 13 participants in their 30s (32.5%), 10 in their 40s (25.0%), 8 in their 50s (20.0%), and 7 in their 20s (17.5%). Additionally, one participant was in their 60s, and another was aged 70 or older.
By challenge area, the highest selections were for 'enhancing productivity and innovation capabilities of small businesses and SMEs through AI utilization' (12 participants, 30.0%) and 'filling gaps in community care services' (11 participants, 27.5%), together accounting for more than half of all selections.
Outstanding proposals included: recovery of precious metals using recycling technologies (water and ultrasonic methods), and a subscription-based vocational education service tailored for individuals with hearing impairments.
The 40 finalists who passed the presentation evaluation will be matched with private ACs (startup planners) and VCs (venture capital firms) to receive support for solution enhancement, fundraising, marketing, market expansion, and technology commercialization.
During the '2026 Venture Week' event scheduled for December, a final nationwide public presentation evaluation will select 10 top finalists, who will be eligible for up to 150 million won in business development funding.
Noh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Companies that address the most pressing social problems can grow into leading innovative enterprises and secure future markets." He added, "We will spare no policy support to help entrepreneurs tackling social issues leap forward as socially impactful ventures equipped with both innovation and growth potential."
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