‘Busan Venture-in’ Had Both Diligence and Plans

Busan Venture Business Association, Platform Role for Local Venture Industry ... Small but Strong 350 Member Companies

Busan Venture Tower stands tall in the western Busan area, overlooking the Nakdong River and the Gimhae Plain.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Networking among member companies begins early in the morning. They share various new business, startup, and economic-related information and pour out ideas for new knowledge development.

The organization that has been conducting the so-called "Morning Campus," a breakfast seminar held daily without fail for 12 years, is the "Busan Venture Business Association."

The Morning Campus, a diligent morning study group, has become the association's "brand program."

The incorporated Busan Venture Business Association was established in December 2005 and has been leading the regional industry of Busan for 15 years, representing the voices of small and medium venture companies and establishing itself as a "small but strong" business organization in Busan.

The association operates targeting over 2,200 venture companies in the Busan area, with about 350 member companies active, consisting of 50 executive companies and over 300 general member companies.

Within the association, there are seven small groups including humanities, hiking, golf, young CEOs, export club, angel club, and technology development exchange meetings.

These small groups serve as the basic network for member companies and are like seed-like energy clusters that can realize future corporate profits.

In fact, the positive synergy generated in these active small groups has become a strong link connecting companies, leading to fruitful outcomes for member companies?an everyday occurrence that is countless within this organization.

Kim Byung-guk, president of the Busan Venture Business Association, said, "We are actively revitalizing small groups and strengthening the association’s substance based on the solid foundation created through exchanges among members." The association’s goal is to realize a "hub for regional socio-economic development."

The Busan Venture Tower, built in Mora-dong, Sasang-gu, Busan in 2018, is considered by locals as a great achievement made possible by the passion of the association’s member companies.

Starting with the groundbreaking ceremony in 2014 and taking 3 years and 8 months to complete, the tower faced many challenges during construction but was completed through the blood and sweat of member companies. It has become a symbolic building of local companies, proudly standing tall as the only one of its kind in Korea built by venture entrepreneurs joining forces.

The association is currently promoting numerous public projects that are hard to list, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ joint venture company recruitment training support project, the Ministry of Science and ICT’s STEM training project, Busan City’s job project and successful CEO exploration project, Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Youth Tomorrow Filling Deduction, Youth Employee Tomorrow Filling Deduction, overseas trade delegation projects, and more. These projects support the capacity building of member companies and directly assist them, driving the regional economy.

Additionally, following the successful execution of the Leading Venture-linked Startup Support Project in 2018 and the Youth Startup Academy in 2019, the association was selected as the lead organization for the Makerspace project in 2020, growing as a private organization that has taken charge of representative startup projects in various fields for three consecutive years, playing a major role in fostering the startup ecosystem in the Busan area.

Along with the 12-year history of the Morning Campus, the association’s challenges and diligence are so relentless that there is almost no "halftime," including the "BUVA Ibague DAY," a talk concert between senior and junior members held monthly on the 29th starting this year, venture merit awards, and scholarship presentations.

Its own projects are also diverse, such as the annual "Venture Day," which encourages and celebrates the efforts of Busan venture entrepreneurs at the end of each year.

Over the past 15 years, the Busan Venture Business Association has been leading networking among local small and medium venture companies, laying the foundation for mountain-to-mountain cooperation, protecting member company rights, and paving its way as a representative hub of Busan’s economy.