The second round of the Startup for All Project, a startup support program run by South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has drawn more than 10,000 applicants in about two weeks since applications opened.
The ministry said the second round began on the 20th of last month and that applicants topped 10,000 as of 10 a.m. on the 3rd. The first round took 25 days to reach 10,000 applicants, indicating a faster pace of applications this time.
Participation from outside the greater Seoul area increased in this round. About 60% of all applicants were based outside the capital region, up 15 percentage points from the same point in the first round.
"We plan to open the door to more challengers and provide thicker support so that their attempts lead to actual startups and growth," said Cho Kyung-won, director general for startup policy at the ministry. "We will firmly establish the Startup for All Project as the entry point for innovative talent into the startup ecosystem."
