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The 7th “B-Startup Challenge (Startup Investment Competition)” Final Screening Held

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it would host the final screening of the “B-Startup Challenge (Startup Investment Competition)” (hereinafter referred to as “the competition”) today (September 23) at 1:00 PM at Exhibition Hall 1, BEXCO.

The competition is co-hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, BNK Busan Bank, and Busan MBC, and co-organized by the Busan Startup Investment Agency and BNK Venture Investment.

The “B-Startup Challenge” is a competition aimed at discovering and fostering promising startups. Since its launch in 2019, the event marks its 7th year and has produced a total of 29 award-winning companies to date, which have subsequently attracted 26 billion KRW in follow-up investment, making it a representative startup investment competition in Busan.

This competition is also the nation’s first and only event organized by a local government to adopt an equity investment model. By linking 300 million KRW in seed investment, the competition helps startups that struggle to attract early-stage investment build a foundation for growth through both business support and follow-up investment opportunities.

*Equity investment model: investment in preferred shares (which do not have voting rights but grant preferential rights to dividends and residual assets).

As of July 18, a total of 312 companies applied, resulting in a final competition ratio of 62.4:1. After document reviews and preliminary screenings, 10 companies—including four from the Busan region—were confirmed to advance to the finals on August 7.

The 10 finalists include:

• ●Knowledge services (4 companies): Parallel Space Co., Ltd., AM Management Co., Ltd., Lazenka AI Co., Ltd., and EMCity Co., Ltd.

• ●Manufacturing (6 companies): Simple Planet Co., Ltd., BARC Co., Ltd., TMS Industry Co., Ltd., D&C Biotechnology Co., Ltd., People’s League Co., Ltd., and CBB Science Co., Ltd.

The finals consist of two parts: [Part 1: Final presentations and screening], [Part 2: Awards ceremony]. Five final winners will be selected and awarded the Grand Prize, Gold Prize, Silver Prize, Bronze Prize, and Special Prize.

At the awards ceremony, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Lee Jun-seung, BNK Busan Bank CEO Bang Seong-bin, Busan MBC CEO Choi Byung-han, and around 100 others will attend. The ceremony will present awards to the five companies selected in the final screening.

The five award-winning companies will receive a total of 300 million KRW in equity investment, funded entirely by BNK Busan Bank. The allocation will be: Grand Prize – 130 million KRW, Gold Prize – 80 million KRW, Silver Prize – 50 million KRW, among others.

Additional follow-up support will also be provided to participating companies, including investor matching and consultation support, as well as participation in BNK Busan Bank’s “SUM Incubator Program.”

In addition, the CEO of Bungaejangter Inc. (CEO Choi Jae-hwa), Korea’s leading secondhand trading platform, has been invited to deliver a special lecture on the theme “Startup Entrepreneurship and Innovation.”

Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Lee Jun-seung stated, “This year, the competition is held in conjunction with Asia’s startup expo ‘FLY ASIA,’ expanding opportunities for startups to attract investment through exchanges with domestic and international investors. We will use this competition as an opportunity to discover promising startups, support local startups in attracting investment, and actively assist their entry into the global market.”