Strengthening International Competitiveness of Busan Startups
Operating Overseas Startup Entry Program in Busan
Busan City and Busan Technopark announced that they have achieved meaningful results by promoting the influx and investment of overseas venture capital firms (VCs), global talents, and foreign startups into Busan through the domestic investment attraction program, the ‘2024 Global Inbound Support Project.’
Launched for the first time this year, this project aims to globalize the Busan startup ecosystem by supporting the entry of overseas companies and talents into Korea. It has strengthened exchanges between local startups and foreign investors, providing an important opportunity to revitalize the Busan startup ecosystem.
▲ Marketing support for entry into the Southeast Asian market through ‘Overseas Talent Job Training (Global Internship)’ ▲ Two sessions of the ‘FLY-Workation’ program in collaboration with Fly Asia (35 participants) ▲ ‘FLY & K-Startup Grand Challenge’ (34 participants) were conducted, and ▲ the ‘FLY-Inbound’ program is planned to be launched.
The Overseas Talent Job Training was implemented as a ‘Global Internship Support Project’ to attract global talents to Busan startups and support their entry into the Southeast Asian market, significantly contributing to enhancing the international competitiveness of Busan startups.
Through a call for participating companies in January this year, companies based in Busan wishing to enter the Southeast Asian market were selected, and students from Singapore Management University (SMU) were matched with these companies to conduct on-site internships for about 12 weeks from May to August.
At the Overseas Talent Job Training (Internship) performance meeting held in July, both companies and students expressed their intention to participate again, showed positive responses regarding recommendations to acquaintances, and evaluated the growth of both corporate and individual capabilities, successfully concluding the program.
The ‘FLY-Workation’ program, linked with ‘Fly Asia (FLY ASIA),’ focused on promoting Busan’s excellent startup environment and beautiful natural scenery to overseas venture capital firms (VCs) and strengthening cooperation with the global startup ecosystem.
In June, overseas venture capital firms (VCs) invited to the ‘Busan Slush’D’ event experienced Busan’s startup ecosystem and support infrastructure firsthand over five nights and six days, seeking investment opportunities through exchanges with local startups.
The ‘FLY & K-Startup Grand Challenge’ is a workation program for startups participating in the ‘K-Startup Grand Challenge,’ inviting 30 overseas companies to participate in networking events on the eve of FLY ASIA 2024, award judging, docent programs, tours of the Busan startup ecosystem, and one-on-one meetings.
This project was planned in connection with the ‘K-Startup Grand Challenge,’ the world’s largest startup competition promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, introduced in 2016 with the aim of attracting and nurturing overseas startups domestically to elevate Korea’s startup ecosystem into a global startup hub.
Participating companies expressed high satisfaction, stating, “Busan has policies and infrastructure that satisfy overseas startups, and the one-on-one meeting programs with various companies allowed us to expect good results,” and “Busan is an optimal city for digital nomads, and it was beneficial to see firsthand the policies and infrastructure available when overseas startups establish branches or relocate their headquarters to Busan.”
The city is recruiting companies to participate in the customized ‘FLY-Inbound Project,’ which supports startup visa acquisition, one-on-one mentoring, and business networking to attract overseas venture investors (VCs) and startups to Busan, until the end of November.
This program can be applied for through the Busan Startup Portal and targets overseas startups and investors with less than 10 years of business history who wish to establish branches or relocate their headquarters to Busan.
Each company will receive vouchers worth approximately 10 million KRW, office space, legal, accounting, and visa consulting, business connections with domestic institutions and companies, and customized support for communication and visa acquisition.
Nam Dong-woo, Director of Financial Startup Policy at the city, stated, “Next year, we will continue to collaborate with related organizations such as Busan Technopark and overseas startup ecosystem stakeholders to promote investment attraction and further strengthen Busan’s international standing in the startup ecosystem.”
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