Busan Startup Incubating Project Sets Sail

Launching on the 21st with Over 100 Prospective and Early-Stage Entrepreneurs Selected

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Sharon] This year, a technology startup incubating project focusing on nurturing startup founders in the Busan area has set sail.

On the 21st, Busan City held the launch ceremony of the '2020 12th Technology Startup Incubating Project' at Arpina of Busan Tourism Organization, together with the Busan Economic Promotion Agency, with about 100 attendees including prospective entrepreneurs and early-stage startup founders.

At the event, 92 prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs who were selected through a 3.8 to 1 competition rate attended.

The 'Technology Startup Incubating Project' is a startup support program for those preparing to start a business or early-stage startups, which began in 2010 and has been promoted for 10 years. So far, it has supported over 1,800 early-stage startup companies and created employment for more than 4,000 people, making it a representative startup support project in Busan.

Participants receive free startup space for up to two years and up to 10 million KRW in commercialization funds. They can also use one-on-one dedicated consulting, and even after completion, they receive various support until their business establishes a stable foundation.

A company participating in the 10th term of this project, 'Mallanghani,' founded in March 2018, achieved cumulative sales of 1.3 billion KRW and created 19 jobs, being selected as an excellent startup company of the year.

The 11th term company 'Real Coco Global,' founded in June 2018, achieved cumulative sales of 4.8 billion KRW, created 14 jobs, and exported 300,000 USD, being selected as a global export star company and a promising export small and medium enterprise. Excellent companies are produced every year.

According to the administrative statistics on business births and deaths by Statistics Korea, the average survival rate of new companies at the 5-year mark is 29%, whereas startups that have gone through the Technology Startup Incubating Project show a survival rate of 89%, more than three times higher.

A city official said, "We will expand excellent infrastructure and support programs for each startup stage so that entrepreneurs can focus on starting their businesses without anxiety from external shocks such as the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)." He added, "Technology startup incubating is a project that lays the cornerstone of the startup ecosystem, and the goal is to help startups nurtured by Busan grow into 'unicorn companies' with high corporate value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.