The Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center (CEO Yongwoo Kim, hereinafter referred to as Busan Creative Economy) announced that it has achieved tangible results, such as investment attraction and global expansion of selected companies, through the 2025 BOUNCE Smart Marine and Fintech Accelerating Program, which was promoted as part of the Pre-BOUNCE platform operation project operated last year.
The program targeted startups in the smart maritime and fintech sectors with less than seven years of experience as of the announcement date. A total of five companies were selected and received support in stages from March to December. Busan Changgyeong moved beyond short-term training or one-time events to operate the program, leveraging its proprietary Pre-BOUNCE platform to foster ongoing connections and communication between startups, investors, and industry partners.
The five companies selected were Crosshub, Dataflare, Synergy Partner, Uproot Company, and Team Reboot. Busan Changgyeong provided these companies with 2 million won per company in startup activity funds, including intellectual property acquisition and exhibition participation fees. The program also provided insight trips, customized investment capacity building, expert mentoring, and support program connections. As a result, the selected companies achieved annual sales of 31.8 billion won, attracted 1.7 billion won in investment, created 42 new jobs, and secured 31 intellectual property rights.
Busan Changkyung preemptively assessed each company's growth stage and key challenges, then implemented a customized, on-demand investment capacity-building program focused on areas directly related to investment and business expansion, including pitch deck enhancement, IR strategy development, global PR, and financial and valuation consulting. This program resulted in over 44 successful outcomes, including winning the CES 2026 Best of Innovation Award and Innovation Award, being selected for TIPS, attracting investment, conducting PoCs, and generating commercial sales.
Furthermore, through Pre-BOUNCE's ongoing mentoring program, a total of 18 sessions of practical mentoring were provided, covering topics such as corporate diagnosis, performance analysis, human resources and organization, certification, and global issues. Furthermore, over 30 internal and external business collaborations took place. This process led to subsequent growth opportunities, including investment connections, participation in global programs, and open innovation meetups.
A field-focused program, the Smart Maritime Insight Trip, was held. Participating companies visited the Busan Main Customs Office and the Busan Port Authority, held practical meetups with officials, and discussed the potential application of technologies and future directions for cooperation, including port data utilization, carbon emissions management, and foreign crew member identification.
Busan Changgyeong provided follow-up support not only to selected companies but also to those that were not selected. Focusing on companies with potential for collaboration, the program offered mentoring, IR connections, and space and program linkages on over 20 occasions. Some companies achieved actual investment attraction results.
Participating companies positively evaluated the ongoing communication and customized support tailored to each company's unique characteristics, which led to investment attraction and global success. Busan Changgyeong plans to further enhance its accelerator system, centered around the Smart Ocean AX Initiative, to continuously support smart ocean startups in strengthening their technological competitiveness and generating business results.
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