FLY ASIA, Asia's leading startup expo that supports the realization of 'Busan as Asia's Startup Platform City' and the global expansion of startups, will be changing this year!

 

The city of Busan announced that it will hold 'FLY ASIA 2024' under the theme of 'Inspired by being together' from October 1 to 2 at BEXCO Exhibition Center 1.

 

Building on the experience of the past two years and networking with major Asian startup cities, the event has significantly expanded both in terms of quantity and quality, including topics, participant size, internationality, and collaborative programs.

 

This year's event will feature a wide range of investment and startup-related programs, including an opening ceremony, scale-up rounds and briefings (meetups), global exhibitions (pavilions), academic meetings (conferences), competitions (awards), open innovation (open innovation), exhibitions, and events in conjunction with Bounce, COMEUP, and Festival Sewol.

 

On the first day of the event, Mayor Park Hyung-jun will open the event at 11 a.m. by announcing his vision to make Busan a great place to start a business, including 'creating startup funds,' 'establishing a professional support system,' 'creating an innovation infrastructure where investment consultations (meetups) are held at all times,' and 'expanding overseas.

 

Following this, Fatou Haidara, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), will deliver a keynote lecture on “Global ESG Industry Trends and the Role of Startups,” a key theme this year.

 

In particular, this year's event will be the largest single event of its kind and will be expanded to become a place for business cooperation where experts in the field of investment and entrepreneurship, including domestic large and medium-sized enterprises, global companies and investment firms, promising startups, and startup support organizations, will gather in large numbers.

 

More than 1,000 customized one-on-one (1:1) meetings will be held between more than 400 domestic and international investors and startups with a focus on entrepreneurial growth. More than 200 of Asia's leading global investors, including CDIB Capital Group, Vina Capital, and Smilegate Investments, will also be in attendance.

 

There will also be an “Open Innovation” program with more than 40 large, medium, and public organizations, including Lotte, SK C-C, LG Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Heavy Industries. For companies that are not pre-registered, they can make business proposals and consult through the Startup Open Innovation window.

 

In addition, there will be pitching and demonstration sessions (Demo Day) by the Korea Development Bank, IBK Changgong, Decamp, Scaleup Tips Association, and Financial Investment Association, and business-to-business (B2B) briefings (Meetup) by the SME Venture Corporation, Limited Partners (LPs) and Venture Capital (VCs) Forum, and ▲ Korea Venture Investment's 'Busan Future Growth Fund Presentation' will be held to present fund formation, investment opportunities and strategies, and to strengthen networks and discuss investment cooperation among major domestic and foreign investment organizations, LPs, and general partners (GPs).

 

In addition, it will operate a global exhibition hall (pavilion) as a joint Asian space (booth) with 41 organizations from 6 countries, and significantly strengthen global contents such as supporting 23 foreign startup teams to explore entering Busan, making it a truly global festival.

 

Since the launch of Asia Startup Expo in 2022, one of our main focuses has been to build a network of cooperation among Asian startup cities for shared prosperity. This year, based on the network and follow-up projects accumulated so far, we plan to expand to a global pavilion with 41 organizations from six countries - Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam - to operate spaces (booths) and share know-how on going global.

 

In addition, 23 foreign startup teams participating in the 'K-Startup Grand Challenge*' will be invited to explore Busan's entrepreneurship ecosystem and other programs.

 

In addition, a three-dimensional program for the growth of local startups will be expanded and newly established to create a virtuous cycle of benefits for local businesses.

 

In order to provide various investment and exchange (networking) opportunities for local companies, we plan to operate spaces (booths) for a total of 61 local innovative companies, including spaces (booths) for companies participating in the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and spaces (booths) for Cosco Southeast Region, which is more than three times larger than last year.

 

In addition, the 'Venture Capital (CVC) Open Innovation' program has been established to grow Busan's excellent small and medium-sized manufacturing companies into innovative startups, and 30 CVCs, including Geumyang and Plan H Ventures, will meet with 20 excellent manufacturing companies to discuss collaboration and investment.

 

In particular, this year, 'COMEUP in Busan' will be held as a pre-event for 'COMEUP 2024' organized by Korea Startup Forum, the largest startup organization in Korea. Five local companies nominated as 'Busan Upstartz' will be provided with benefits such as participation in the main event of 'COMEUP 2024' in December.

 

The FLY ASIA Awards, a startup contest, will feature 50 companies (FLY 50) in the finals with a total prize pool of $180,000 (worth 230 million won). In particular, this year, 200 citizen evaluators comprised of budding entrepreneurs, university students, and general citizens will participate in the final judging process, which is expected to help citizens understand entrepreneurship by experiencing the growth strategies of senior startups and the realities of global startups.

 

The competition attracted 197 companies from 15 countries, and this year, 35 Korean companies (9 from Busan) and 15 overseas companies from Japan and Singapore will participate in the final pitch. The six finalists will be provided with follow-up growth support such as investment and consulting.

 

In addition, for the first time, the Asia Startup Expo will offer a docent tour program with explanations for family members, including students, twice daily during the event. In particular, in conjunction with 'Festival Sewol', Korea's first convergence exhibition and convention event, the event will showcase products and services that collaborate between design and startups, and run various programs that citizens can easily participate in.

 

New this year is the 'Food Tech' zone, where the food industry and Industry 4.0 technologies are applied to create new added value, and visitors can find the latest information and items.

 

Pre-registration to attend Fly Asia 2024 is open until tomorrow (27th) via the Fly Asia website, and on-site registration is also available.

 

“This year, Busan has laid the foundation for its growth as an 'Asian Startup Platform City' and its leap to a 'Global Hub City' by raising large-scale funds, attracting innovation infrastructure, and approving the establishment of specialized startup institutions, which are key factors for startup growth,” said Mayor Park Hyung-jun. ‘Building on this momentum, ’FLY ASIA' will further expand to serve as a bridgehead for exchanges and business networks to revitalize the global startup ecosystem, as well as a traction engine for subsequent businesses.”

 

“Please keep an eye on the Busan startup ecosystem, which will develop further by leaps and bounds as a global startup hub,” he added.