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Busan Presents Its Vision as an Asian Startup City at Singapore SWITCH 2025, Laying the Groundwork for Startup Growth

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) and the Busan Startup Investment Agency (President Seo Jong-goon) announced that they had laid an important foundation for attracting investment and expanding the global reach of local companies by participating in “SWITCH 2025 (Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology 2025)”, held in Singapore from October 29 to 31.

“SWITCH” is Singapore’s representative startup exhibition, bringing together innovative technology companies and investors from around the world each year.

This year, the city, the Busan Startup Investment Agency, and seven promising local startups participated as part of Busan’s official delegation.

Overview of SWITCH 2025

• ●Event Name: SWITCH 2025 (Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology 2025)

• ●Date & Venue: October 29 (Wed) – October 31 (Fri), Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

• ●Host/Organizer: Enterprise Singapore

• ●Purpose: To connect and share ideas among leaders in diverse fields such as healthcare and biomedical sciences, environment, energy and green technology, manufacturing, trade, and digital innovation.

This participation was part of the city’s “Global Exchange and Investment Attraction Support Program,” designed to strengthen the global competitiveness of local startups and establish a foundation for their overseas expansion.

Through this program, Busan Metropolitan City provided a range of preparatory support to help local startups successfully enter the global market. With the cooperation of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, the city offered pre-event capability-building training, expert consulting, and business matching services for the participating companies. During the exhibition, various events, including site visits to local startup support organizations, were arranged to expand practical investment opportunities.

Seven promising startups from Busan took part in the exhibition: Frboi Co., Ltd., Coconut Silo Co., Ltd., Linkflix Co., Ltd., CIT Co., Ltd., Manman Bros Co., Ltd., Koai Co., Ltd., and Marina Chain Co., Ltd. They operated a joint “K-Startup Pavilion,” attracting significant attention from global investors and buyers.

Participating Companies:

• ●Frboi Co., Ltd. (AI-based heavy machinery collision avoidance solution)

• ●Coconut Silo Co., Ltd. (AI-based logistics routing platform)

• ●Linkflix Co., Ltd. (High-performance biodegradable polymer adhesives)

• ●CIT Co., Ltd. (Copper deposition technology for semiconductor packaging)

• ●Manman Bros Co., Ltd. (Sustainable modular exhibition solutions)

• ●Koai Co., Ltd. (Marine-cleaning robotic equipment)

• ●Marina Chain Co., Ltd. (Ship carbon emission management platform)

The seven participating companies achieved remarkable results, including 87 buyer consultations and 57 investment discussions.
Notably, CIT Co., Ltd. is currently proceeding with investment procedures totaling over 6 million Singapore dollars (SGD) across three deals, while Linkflix Co., Ltd. signed a Proof of Concept (PoC) agreement with a Canadian eco-friendly hygiene product company.

In addition, Marina Chain Co., Ltd. and Koai Co., Ltd. each concluded cooperation agreements with a Qatari shipping platform company and an Estonian marine technology firm, respectively. All participating startups received considerable global attention, raising expectations for follow-up investments.

During the exhibition, the Busan delegation focused on expanding opportunities for local startups to attract investment and enter overseas markets through meetings with major startup ecosystem institutions and global investors in Singapore.

In particular, Busan officials met with SGInnovate, Singapore’s national deep-tech development agency, and Enterprise Singapore, the organizer of SWITCH, to explore potential cooperation measures. They also held discussions with Singapore Management University (SMU) to review achievements in the global internship program and discuss future plans for the coming year.

Additionally, the delegation met with major international investment firms active in Asia and global markets to explore the possibility of securing follow-up investments for promising startups from Busan.

Lee Jin-su, Director of Financial Startup Policy at Busan Metropolitan City, stated,
“Our city will go beyond simple support to help technologically innovative and creative companies leap forward in the global market. We will strengthen cooperation with major Asian startup cities and expand exchange networks to ensure that our companies achieve tangible business results.”