Ministry of SMEs and Startups: "'BizCool Festival' Successfully Concludes... Z Generation's Active Participation Stands Out"

Students of Seosin Middle School are presenting an eco-friendly bag at the '2021 Youth Bizcool Festival.' This bag is made from biodegradable materials.
[Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 8th that the 활약상 of Generation Z youth stood out at the '2021 Youth BizCool Festival,' a youth entrepreneurship festival held from the 3rd to the 5th of this month.

This year, students from 424 BizCool schools participated in the Youth BizCool Festival. The festival was conducted mainly online using the metaverse platform 'Zepeto.' Students directly set up 109 online school exhibition halls within the Zepeto application (app).

On the first day of the event, a 'BizCool Sketch' showcasing the BizCool activities experienced by students was held. At the talk concert held on the 4th, startup CEOs who challenged entrepreneurship from their youth shared their experiences and know-how. Jung Hyunkyung, CEO of Musicow, who attended the keynote speech that day, said, "I wanted to create a business that has clear marketability but does not yet exist," adding, "I considered a business that could coexist without competition."

The 'Sprout Company IR Presentation Contest' was also held over two days. In this contest, the eco-friendly bag from Seoshin Middle School, which is biodegradable, and the leaf fire starter from Daegu Muhak High School, which recycles fallen leaves, won the grand prizes in the middle school and high school divisions, respectively.

Active competition also took place in the youth app development contest 'Smartin App Challenge.' Celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, the contest is jointly hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and SK to foster creative talent in the mobile field. This year, 369 teams and 1,294 participants competed in three categories: future industry, lifestyle information, and entertainment. The Ministry selected 27 teams as awardees.

Cha Jung-hoon, Director of the Startup Venture Innovation Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "We could see the strong tomorrow of Korea at this festival," adding, "We will continue to support 'Youth BizCool' so that young people can cultivate a spirit of challenge and dream of becoming future entrepreneurs."

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