Dong-A University Invests 10 Billion KRW to Foster 'New Industry' Startups

Biohealth, Future Energy, and Smart Mobility Sectors

Lead Early Startup Package, Targeting Funding Support for Over 30 Companies

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Dong-A University is set to intensify its efforts to discover and nurture entrepreneurs in new industry fields such as biohealth and smart mobility.

Dong-A University (President Lee Hae-woo) announced on the 13th that it has been selected as the lead institution for the ‘2023 Early Startup Package Project’ organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, securing over 10 billion KRW in national funding for four years.

The Early Startup Package Project is a program that discovers entrepreneurs within three years of starting their business and provides funding necessary for prototype production, intellectual property acquisition, marketing, and other startup needs.

The university will support startup programs such as market entry, early investment, and proof-of-concept verification, considering the expertise of each lead institution. With this project selection, Dong-A University plans to discover and nurture about 30 early-stage startups.

Aiming to specialize support in new industry fields such as ‘biohealth,’ ‘future energy,’ and ‘smart mobility,’ seven organizations including Dong-A University Technology Holdings, Busan Regional University Consortium Technology Holdings, Pusan National University Technology Holdings, Series Ventures Co., Ltd., T-Lab Co., Ltd., Dream Ventures, and Smart Farmer Co., Ltd. will secure 1 billion KRW in investment annually to invest in promising startup companies.

Since being selected as the first ‘Startup Leading University’ in the southeastern region in 2011, Dong-A University has been conducting startup support projects for 12 years and operates the first startup incubation center in the Busan area.

Additionally, from 2019 to 2021, the university operated 12 startup support projects including the ‘Preliminary Startup Package Project,’ ‘Early Startup Package Project,’ ‘BI Support Project,’ and ‘Innopolis Campus Project,’ achieving results such as supporting 360 companies, generating sales of 74.2 billion KRW, creating 921 jobs, and attracting 29.4 billion KRW in investment.

Choi Jeong-ju, head of Dong-A University Startup Support Group, said, “Based on 12 years of experience operating startup support projects, we will lay the foundation to discover startups with potential and help them become unicorn companies in the southeastern region.”

Dong-A University.

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