Business Support Program 2 - Pet industry Start-ups & Pet Theme Park Construction of Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Gyeonggi Province in Korea provides various support programs for Pet related businesses. While also on the way to open a 'pet theme park' for the pets and owners in the resident.

As the number of pet-raising households are increasing in recent years due to the increase of single-person households and the elderly, interest in policies and industries related to pets have also increased.

According to a survey in 2018 by the Animal Protection and Welfare Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Quarantine, the number of pets registered nationwide from 2014 to 2017 was 1.18 million. Among that number, Gyeonggi-do is the largest registered area in the country, accounting for 350,000 pets. This is about 30% of the total, and this shows that the people in Gyeonggi-do have a keen interest in pets.

In order to create a Gyeonggi-do where people live happily with their pets, the Animal Care Policy was announced in 2020. Gyeonggi-do is also discovering and fostering promising early start-up founders with excellent ideas in related fields to further revitalize the pet industry.

“Start-up support fund of up to 32 million Korean won for those with brilliant start-up ideas”

This year’s fund prospects totals 20 budding entrepreneurs, for people who are either planning to apply for a start-up or is within the first three years of their start-up from the announcement date. Recruitment is for products and ideas related to the pet industry such as premium feed, health care, grooming and fashion, furniture and IT. Pet shops, simple wholesale and retail, and distribution businesses are not considered.

If you are selected to receive the support funding, you can receive up to 32 million Korean won in funding for your start-up to be used in product development, application for intellectual property, public relations and marketing, cost for professional mentoring, market research, tax and accounting.

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Application Period	24th February 2020 – 13th March 2020 18:00
Eligible Candidates	Entrepreneurs planning to register their business in Gyeonggi-do OR Early start-up founder in Gyeonggi-do, founded after 24th February 2017 Start-up company as defined in the Small and Medium Business Start-up Support Act
Field	Start-up Technology in the Pet Industry Premium feed, Healthcare, Grooming, Fashion, Furniture, IT (Excluding pet shops, wholesale and distribution)
Benefits	Start-up Work Space (Rent-free workspace in Base Camp located on the 10th floor of Gwanggyo Techno Valley Next Generation Convergence Technology Institute)
	Minimum 12 million – Maximum 32 million Korean won Support (Product Development, Intellectual Property Rights, Public Relations and Marketing, 1:1 Mentoring, Development Space, Market Research, Tax and Accounting)

Gyeonggi-do Startup platform to supports Start-up Tech in the Pet Industry. 

In order to learn more about the support for start-ups in the pet industry, we met up with CEO Lee Sang Yeol of “IEVO”, who received the funding support in 2019 and listened to his story.

Manager of the Uiwang City Solo Creative Enterprise Support Center and CEO Lee Sang Yeol of IEVO
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Q. Please tell us about your start-up and the product.

A. IEVO developed the Aqua Pet “EVO”, which survives without much hassle nor continuous feeding. As the number of single-person households continue to grow, interest in “cultivated fish” raised in a tank grew steadily. However, these fish are difficult to care for and require a lot of hard work. You have to turn the lights on and off every day, feed them, and constantly change the water. It is a tough hobby for the modern busy salary worker.

Self surviving Aqua Pet "EVO" ⓒ경기도블로그

Q. Please tell us more about the idea behind developing the self-sustaining Aqua Pet EVO.

A. Aqua Pet EVO has completely removed the hassle. You can see that a complete ecosystem is realized in a small 10cm fish tank. There is no need to feed nor change the water. They can find food by themselves and their faeces are completely broken down. Even in this sealed environment, Aqua Pets can survive for up to 15 years.

Innovative technology eliminates the discomfort of the consumer, and it being in a compact size makes it great for gifts. Aqua Pet EVO has attracted attention in many various fields. Recently, a large company has sent an offer to use Aqua Pet EVO as a souvenir, and the Ministry of Education has also expressed an interest in using it as an educational tool for children.

Q. Why do you think IEVO was shortlisted as a candidate for the support funding?

A. In order to be eligible for support projects for entrepreneurs, it is necessary to receive good evaluations from a business and technical standpoint for your product. As mentioned earlier, EVO received a lot of recognition from businesses in various fields wanting to use our product. Another plus point is that our technology is able to reduce or entirely remove the discomfort factor of our consumers when it comes to raising a pet.

IEVO office at Uiwang City Solo Creative Enterprise Support Center
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Ko Young-hoon, manager of the Uiwang City Solo Creative Enterprise Support Center, said he found the strength of IEVO in its entrepreneurship. The first time he saw Lee Sang Yeol, he was convinced of the success of IEVO by looking at the twinkling eyes of the CEO, full of confidence in his business.

The root of Lee Sang Yeol’s conviction was the affection and devotion to the pet industry, which has continued for 39 years. He was introduced to a life with pets back in fourth grade of element school where he received a black, white and red goldfish as gifts and from then on, fell in love with animals. Thereafter, he spent his childhood surrounded by puppies and parrots.

Ever since his middle and high school days, he has continued to be interested in the pet industry and wanted to develop it. It was said that even in the 90s, there was low awareness of the pet industry. He says that the road opens up when you discover what you love and go crazy about it. 

In addition, CEO Lee Sang Yeol participated in planning for the Rare Animal Exhibition in Yongin City in 2004 and the Uljin World Eco-Friendly Agricultural Expo in 2009. His constant affection and commitment to the field has been around for over 40 years, and today his work is showing tremendous results.

In addition to Aqua Pet EVO, IEVO, which is envisioning a special pet product, intends to establish itself as a representative brand of professional goods for pets. In the growing pet market, I look forward to leading IEVO in bringing essential products to clients.

Uiwang City Solo Creative Enterprise Support Center provides start-up offices for free to the Pet related firms
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Q. Lastly, please give some words of advice to aspiring participants in the 2020 funding support project.

A. You should not jump into the business just because the pet industry seems to be gaining traction. Rather than the thought of making money, be sure you really like this field and the path will open up to you. If you want to succeed as a start-up, you must have a clear vision and goals, and work hard to realize the value that you want to deliver to your customers.

In 2022, Gyeonggi-do is also planning to open a Pet Theme Park, a complex cultural space for the coexistence of people and animals. It is currently in construction and will complete in March 2022. There will be a pet culture center, a pet protection facility, a camping ground, a memorial hall, management facilities, etc.

Bird's eye view of Yeoju Pet Theme Park

The theme park project is aimed at resolving social problems caused by pets and developing tourism content for pets to create a complex cultural space that can be enjoyed by both pet-raising and non-pet-raising people.

A total of 165,000 square meters of land and 47.4 billion Korean won in national expenses are invested into this project. When the theme park is completed, it is expected to be established as the representative animal welfare infrastructure in Gyeonggi-do, which will open up to a “mature pet culture”.

In addition to the Pet Theme Park, the province plans to start construction of various animal protection infrastructures in Pyeongtaek, such as a “Wild Animal Eco Observation Center”, and “Gyeonggi Northern Wildlife Rescue Management Center” in Yeoncheon in the first half of this year. The “Wild Animal Eco Observation Center” is an infrastructure dedicated to the rescue and protection of wild animals and ecological education for children and adolescents. The “Gyeonggi Northern Wildlife Rescue Management Center” is a facility that serves to rescue, treat, and manage injured wild animals in the northern region and return them to nature.

“The welfare of animals is the welfare of people,” said Kim Seong-sik, director of the Livestock and Forestry Commission of Gyeonggi-do. “We will devote ourselves to smooth implementation of the construction project so that the culture of animal welfare and protection can be established.”