The Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center announced on the 15th that it had received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award for the "2025 Venture Startup Promotion Merit" category in the venture startup private ecosystem creation category at the 2025 Busan Regional SME Activation Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony was hosted by the Busan Regional SME and Startup Administration and held at the Lotte Hotel in Busan.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center has strengthened the foundation of the local startup ecosystem by establishing a comprehensive startup support system that encompasses the entire startup life cycle, from pre-launch to early-stage, and beyond. This ongoing support is credited with this award.
Busan Changgyeong operates approximately 20 startup support programs annually, discovering and nurturing a cumulative 2,374 companies. These programs have generated KRW 875.2 billion in sales, created 5,378 new jobs, and attracted KRW 251 billion in investment. Furthermore, since registering as a public accelerator in 2019, the organization has raised and managed a fund totaling KRW 11.7 billion, contributing to the revitalization of the local venture investment ecosystem.
In the field of open innovation, the center also played a role in expanding collaboration opportunities between large and medium-sized enterprises and startups, currently concentrated in the metropolitan area, to regional areas. It facilitated 53 proof-of-concept (PoC) projects and 675 business meetups between 52 companies, including Lotte affiliates, and startups, leading to 12 contracts and 109 follow-up collaborations.
In addition, we support global market entry through overseas collaboration hubs in Europe and Asia, and we help local startups establish a global reference through participation in international exhibitions like CES, VIVA Tech, and IFA. We are also expanding our workation business globally and focusing on attracting overseas startups and talent.
Kim Yong-woo, CEO of the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center, said that this award is the result of various efforts made over the past 10 years to revitalize the local startup ecosystem, and that the center will continue to play a role as a local startup hub that leads innovation while responding to the changing startup environment.
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