With the goal of recognizing and promoting outstanding U-start youth startups, the 2019 U-start award list was announced on February 26. A total of 18 U-start startups were included in the awards, having won a combined total of US$249,000 in prize money from the prestigious “U-start Plan”. The award marks the successful culmination of 6 months of hard work, and encourages the U-start startups to keep going.
The U-start Plan for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (“U-start Plan”) was founded in 1999 and is implemented by the Youth Development Administration (YDA), Ministry of Education. To promote a culture of campus innovation and entrepreneurship, the U-start plan combines the incubation and innovation resources of colleges and universities to help young students bring out their youthful passion for creativity, and give them the opportunity to realize their own start-up dreams. Teams that pass the evaluations for the first stage of the Plan can receive US$11,000 in subsidies. Start-up teams receive guidance and assistance from their incubation unit for at least six months. Teams that score highly in the evaluations during the second stage of the Plan are given startup awards of US$8,000 to US$32,000. Over the last 11 years, 961 startup teams have benefited from the U-start Plan to embark on their entrepreneurial ambitions.
A total of 50 teams applied to enter the second stage of the U-start Plan of 2019. The teams went through three rounds of competition, and a total of 18 outstanding teams were awarded the prize, including 4 teams in the manufacturing industry, 4 teams in the service industry, 3 teams in the cultural and creative industry, 4 teams in social enterprises, and 3 teams in education and innovation. Apart from the various amounts of prize money given to winning teams, the U-start Plan also provides resources such as walk-in entrepreneurship consultation services, on-site visit services, the U-start Club and related community activities, and business opportunities with the New Southbound Policy. These resources help U-start startups establish a stronger footing and maintain their development.
The U-start Plan is open for applications from January to February 15 each year. Teams of young entrepreneurs shall submit their start-up operation plan, and the cultivation departments of colleges and universities shall submit a guidance plan for co-application. Students intending to start up their own business are welcome to visit the U-start official website (https://ustart.yda.gov.tw/bin/home.php) or join the Facebook fan page (https://www.facebook.com/USTARTFans/) for the latest updates.