The Effects of Matching Grants on Technology Startups

This report investigates the case of a Korean public-private matching grant program called the Tech Incubator Program for Startup (TIPS). Launched in 2013, the program provides a package of support to selected startups, including matching grant for research and development (R and D) and mentorship, for up to three years. After ten years in operation, TIPS is particularly well suited to answer the question of whether public funding can help startups innovate and subsequently improve their performance. Using a dataset that includes 1,650 startups that applied for TIPS between 2013 and 2020, this research analyzes the effects of TIPS on recipients' performance and offers empirical evidence to inform entrepreneurship policy. The results show that TIPS positively affected startup performance one year after selection in terms of innovation input and output, although it did not have a significant effect on revenue or research collaboration activities. The report concludes with five lessons derived from Korea's policy experience in designing and implementing TIPS: (i) a well-designed coordination mechanism may serve as a viable public-private partnership model for fostering innovative startups, (ii) a co-investment model can crowd in private investment and achieve a multiplier effect by reducing the risk of investment in early-stage startups, (iii) complementary supports that target different stages of the startup lifecycle are needed, (iv) patient capital and continuity in entrepreneurial policy with a long-term view are key to nurturing a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, and (v) constant engagement with beneficiaries through data collection and monitoring enables the development of a dynamic monitoring and evaluation mechanism