Kospo Surpasses 2,000 Member Companies Six Years After Launch

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Korea Startup Forum announced on the 16th that it has surpassed 2,000 member companies.

KOSPO recently surpassed 2,000 member companies with the addition of the food ingredient B2B platform startup, Foodpang. This figure represents a 40-fold increase in the number of members in just six years since its launch, demonstrating the growth of both KOSPO and the startup ecosystem.

Founded in September 2016 by about 50 startups, KOSPO aims to create a "country favorable for startups" by leading the activation of the startup ecosystem through regulatory improvements and policy proposals for new industry growth, education, forums, and networking to strengthen startup capabilities. In 2018, as the startup ecosystem grew dynamically, KOSPO established a corporation with 230 member companies and restructured its membership system to allow participation from innovative companies and support organizations. From this turning point, exchanges between startups and the ecosystem became active, leading to the opening of the 1,000-member era in 2019. With a steady increase of about 30 new members per month, the number of members has now surpassed 2,000.

Currently, KOSPO’s startup members include unicorn companies such as Socar, Woowa Brothers, Viva Republica, Zigbang, and Kurly, as well as startups at various growth stages. By industry, many companies in new sectors such as mobility, distribution platforms, proptech, legaltech, and telemedicine are concentrated, and KOSPO is gradually expanding its reach by operating regional councils such as the Southeast Region Council outside Seoul and the metropolitan area. Startup members account for 1,947 companies, representing 97% of the total.

In addition, 53 special members including IT companies like Naver, Kakao, and NHN; global companies such as Google, Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, and AWS; financial institutions including KDB Industrial Bank, BNK Gyeongnam Bank, and BNK Busan Bank; ecosystem support organizations like D.CAMP (Banking Youth Startup Foundation), Startup Alliance, and Asan Nanum Foundation; and venture capital firms such as Digital Healthcare Partners, Lotte Ventures, Signite Partners, SoftBank Ventures, and IMM Investment cooperate with KOSPO to promote mutual growth with startups.

This year, KOSPO is focusing on community advancement with the goal of being "the center of startup collaboration and the core of ecosystem development." Through this, it provides opportunities for startups and ecosystem partners to interact and grow together, while also carrying out activities to revitalize female entrepreneurship and regional startup ecosystems.

Among them, Foodpang, a startup from Busan, joined as the 2,000th member, adding significance to KOSPO’s efforts to revitalize the regional startup ecosystem. Foodpang is an online food ingredient B2B platform company that provides wholesale market prices of agricultural and marine products to restaurant owners in Busan and Seoul, operating convenient ordering and delivery services for high-quality ingredients while expanding its scope.

Gong Kyung-yul, CEO of Foodpang, said, “We faced many difficulties in digitizing the analog distribution system of agricultural and marine products, and deeply sympathized with KOSPO’s efforts to improve the startup business environment and innovate regulations, which led us to join.” He added, “As the 2,000th member, we will contribute to ecosystem innovation and actively participate in cooperation and exchange.”

Park Jae-wook, Chairman of KOSPO, said, “Surpassing 2,000 members in six years since KOSPO’s launch is even more meaningful as it was achieved through the voluntary participation of member companies.” He added, “Beyond quantitative growth so far, KOSPO will strengthen its role as a community representing startups so that innovative startups are more socially respected and can fully demonstrate their capabilities.”