Recruitment of 191 companies according to the stage and characteristics of start-ups
Support for growth of start-ups in the sports industry is in full swing
The Seoul Olympic Memorial National Sports Promotion Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Sports Corporation) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 10th that they will recruit companies to join the “2026 Sports Industry Startup Support Project” and the “2026 Accelerating Support Project” to support the growth of start-ups in the sports industry.
The project is promoted to discover start-up companies with innovative ideas and technologies in the sports field and to lay the foundation for corporate growth through step-by-step customized support. The Korea Sports Corporation will select a total of 191 companies, from prospective founders to companies in the growth stage of startups, to provide start-up childcare programs and commercialization support.
The project will be divided into four programs: “Preliminary and Early Start-up Support,” “Start-up Leap Support,” ” (Preliminary) Social Enterprise Support,” and “Accelerating Support” depending on the start-up stage and corporate characteristics. The “Preliminary and Early Start-up Support Project” will select a total of 83 companies for prospective founders and companies with less than three years of start-up. Participating companies can select one of the six sports industry start-up support centers nationwide and receive support for stable business operations in the early stages of start-up, such as start-up education, expert mentoring, and business model advancement.
A total of 41 companies will be selected in the “Start-up Leap Support Project,” which will be conducted for companies in the growth stage after their start-up. Companies with more than three years and less than seven years of business start-ups are the main targets, and companies with less than three years of business start-ups that have completed the government start-up support project can also apply. A total of 15 companies will be selected with the aim of fostering companies that create social value in the sports field through the ‘(Preliminary) Social Enterprise Support Project’. From prospective founders to companies with less than seven years of founding, it can apply, and it supports preparation for social enterprise certification and business model advancement.
A total of 52 companies will be selected in the “Accelerating Support Project” to strengthen the investment attraction capacity of sports startups with high growth potential and to support accelerating corporate growth. Participating companies can select one of the four operating institutions to support them. In particular, companies in new industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data can apply for less than 10 years of establishment.
The final companies selected through the document and presentation evaluation of each business operating institution will participate in various start-up childcare programs such as start-up education, field training, workshops, collaboration programs, expert mentoring and investment attraction support by December. In addition, an average of 45 million won (preliminary start-up), 50 million won (start-up leap, social enterprise), and 55 million won (accelerating) will be received to promote the commercialization of companies. You can apply for the “start-up support project” from the 9th to the 24th, and the “accelerating support project” from the sports industry support website from the 10th to the 25th.
