The Rural Development Administration (Administrator Jae-han Kwon), Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (President Ho-keun Ahn), and Korea Social Investment (Co-representatives Jong-ik Lee and Soon-yeol Lee) are launching the ‘2025 Excellent Technology Commercialization Support Project Agri-Future’.
This project aims to help young agricultural startups overcome challenges such as funding, market development, and technology commercialization in their early stages while supporting sustainable growth. The application period is from February 7th to March 10th at 2 PM, and 10 companies will be selected.
Main Project Details
Agri-Future provides selected companies with customized support packages to help technology-based agricultural startups establish themselves stably in the market. The main support details are as follows:
◎ Booth support and business matching opportunities at Korea’s largest food exhibition ‘Seoul Food & Hotel – World Food Tech Expo’
◎ Direct investment from Korea Social Investment (over 100 million won) and additional investment connection support
◎ Support for application costs to secure industrial property rights
◎ Additional points awarded when applying for the ‘Step-up Program’ by Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
◎ Technology commercialization capacity building education and 1:1 professional mentoring/IR consulting
Over the past two years, Korea Social Investment has executed 700 million won in direct investments through Agri-Future, and supported companies have achieved follow-up investments of 5.03 billion won, domestic and international sales of 14.51 billion won, and created 70 new jobs.
Application and Selection Process
Young agricultural companies interested in participating can check the announcement on the Korea Social Investment website and apply through Google Forms. Final companies will be selected after document screening and face-to-face evaluations.
Soon-yeol Lee, co-representative of Korea Social Investment, stated, “While young people are actively entering the agricultural sector and startups combining creative ideas with innovative technologies are gradually increasing,” he added, “realistically, many young entrepreneurs face difficulties in capital procurement and securing distribution networks.” He continued, “Korea Social Investment will strengthen customized accelerating programs to solve these problems and actively support mentoring and investment attraction for practical growth to help young entrepreneurs settle stably from the early stages of their startups.”
It remains to be seen whether the collaboration between the Rural Development Administration, Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Korea Social Investment can create agricultural technology innovation and a sustainable agricultural ecosystem.
Inquiry and Support Information
◎ Application Period: February 7, 2024 ~ March 10, 2024, 2 PM
◎ How to Apply: Submit through Google Forms on the Korea Social Investment website
More detailed information is available on the Korea Social Investment website