Ministry of Environment will begin to provide financial support to 42 companies which were selected for 'Commercialization support project for environmental SMEs' in preparation of post-corona era.

'Commercialization support project for environmental SMEs' received applications from January 30th to February 13th on the website 'support.keiti.re.kr' run by Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute.

42 promising environmental companies were selected after about 3 months of screening. They either developed their own environmental technology or acquired technology from other companies, colleges, or research institutes which hold the technology developed within the past 5 years. 

* Information about the stages of technology commercialization and the list of selected companies are not disclosed to the public

This year, Ministry of Environment drastically increased the budget of support for SMEs which may experience short-term liquidity crisis due to COVID-19.

Budget for 'Commercialization support project for environmental SMEs' increased about 2.3 times to \11.2 billion from last year with the number of selected companies rising from 23 to 42. 

The maximum amount of subsidy for a company also rose from \200 million to \330 million.

The 42 selected companies can receive benefits ranging from commercialization budget subsidies and business consulting to private capital raising for up to 15 months. 

Commercialization budget subsidies are provided to help companies secure growth potential through prototype manufacturing, performance test, license and certification, and promotion.

For commercialization promotion diagnosis, nine specialized institutes including Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute will provide customized  consulting in 9 areas*.

* ① Commercialization strategy, ② Export strategy, ③ License and certification, ④ Process and performance improvement, ⑤ Mass production system setup, ⑥ Market verification, ⑦ Design improvement, ⑧ Patent   strategy, ⑨ Investment attraction

Private investment attraction is the program to help the companies with excellent technology and business models improve capital-raising capability through investment capability enhancement, one-to-one consulting with investment companies, and project proposal creation.

Ministry of Environment, meanwhile, will provide \400 million of emergency subsidies for legal consulting and litigation cost to environmental SMEs facing lawsuits due to COVID-19.

Ministry of Environment is providing up to \5 million to about 120 companies for legal consulting and litigation cost.

Except for criminal or administrative litigation, companies can receive financial support for legal issues resulting from COVID-19 such as failure to comply with contract terms, delayed contract signing, or contract termination.  

Applications for legal counselling and litigation cost support can be submitted to Financial Support Team of Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute at 02-2284-1744.

Ministry of Environment expects that 'support project for environmental SMEs' and legal support for COVID-19 this year will contribute to helping SMEs address matters regarding technology commercialization while improving   their capabilities. 

Environmental Economy Policy Director Kim Dong-gu of the Ministry of Environment said "We will carry out a variety of supporting projects and improve policies to help SMEs overcome difficulties amid COVID-19."