"Promising Southeast Region Startups Gathered"... 'Southeast Region Welcome to TIPS' Held

Held at Busan Workation Hub Center on August 28
Specialized Operating Companies Designated by Sector

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on August 28 that it held the 'Southeast Region Welcome to TIPS' event at the Busan Workation Hub Center.

This event was organized to provide a networking opportunity for promising technology startups in the southeast region and TIPS operating companies to meet directly, with the aim of expanding investment opportunities that have been concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions.

TIPS is a public-private partnership startup support system in which private operating companies use their expertise and capabilities to select and invest in startups, and the government provides linked support such as research and development (R&D) funding and business commercialization capital.

To date, more than 3,700 startups have participated in the program, attracting over 17 trillion won in follow-up investment, establishing itself as Korea's leading startup support program.

Over 100 companies, including startups from the southeast region and TIPS operating companies, as well as Deputy Minister Noh Yongseok of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, attended the Southeast Region Welcome to TIPS event.

Eight promising startups, selected through a preliminary screening process, held investment presentations for the TIPS operating companies. Prizes were awarded to outstanding companies chosen through on-site evaluations. The outstanding companies selected today will advance to the integrated finals at the end of the year, where they will once again present their investment pitches to investors from across the country.

Additionally, the event featured a variety of exchange programs, including an operating company briefing session where TIPS operating companies introduced their main investment fields and strategies, investment networking between aspiring TIPS startups and operating companies, mentoring by experienced TIPS startups, and an exhibition of key products from leading TIPS companies in the southeast region.

In conjunction with this event, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups newly designated specialized operating companies by field. Ten specialized operating companies will focus on supporting startups in key areas such as regional, global, win-win cooperation, and climate tech, and will receive benefits such as priority recommendation rights.

Deputy Minister Noh Yongseok stated, "Today marks a powerful first step for startups embarking on their growth journey," and added, "Starting with the southeast region, we will sequentially hold Welcome to TIPS events in each region to further spread the entrepreneurial spirit throughout the country."

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