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Busan Metropolitan City Opens Pathways to the Middle East: Participation in Saudi Arabia’s “BIBAN 2025”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, together with the Busan Startup Investment Agency (President Seo Jong-gun), promising Busan-based startups participated in BIBAN 2025, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 5 to 8, showcasing their competitiveness on the global stage.

“BIBAN,” hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at), is a major event fostering the startup and SME ecosystem in the Middle East. Since its launch in 2017, it has grown to become the region’s largest startup exhibition, attracting more than 180,000 visitors from 151 countries over the past seven years.

Event Overview

• ●Event Name: BIBAN 2025

• ●Period & Venue: November 5 (Wed) – 8 (Sat), 2025, Riyadh Front Exhibition & Convention Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• ●Theme: Global Destination for Opportunities

• ●Host: Monsha’at (Saudi Arabia Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority)

• ●Purpose: Support for SMEs, promotion of entrepreneurship, competitions, forums, investment consultations, and networking

This exhibition was part of Busan’s global exchange and investment promotion program, designed to foster cooperation among startup cities, help promising startups expand globally, and attract investment. In addition to BIBAN 2025, the city also supported participation in Japan’s IVS (July) and Singapore’s SWITCH (November) this year to help local startups tap into global markets.

To ensure successful participation, Busan Metropolitan City provided a range of pre-event support, including consulting, business matching, and capacity-building education programs in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. During the exhibition, participants also joined local entrepreneurship institution tours and networking events, expanding real investment opportunities.

Five Busan-based startups joined this year’s exhibition: Amuz Co., Ltd., DenQ Implant Co., Ltd., Cellasta, Nosh Project, and TVIO.
(Participants: Amuz – SaaS DX solutions; DenQ Implant – dental implants with fracture-resistant micro gap design; Cellasta – precision oncology platform and anticancer therapies; Nosh Project – character-IP snacks using local ingredients; TVIO – functional health supplements for blood sugar and weight control.)

These five companies conducted over 150 business and investment consultations during the event, laying the groundwork for entering the Middle Eastern market.
In particular, DenQ Implant signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) on-site, marking its first step into the region. TVIO achieved remarkable success by selling out its products during participation in Market Door, demonstrating strong market potential. Notably, the Saudi Minister of Commerce personally visited the company’s exhibition booth on the final day, showing keen interest.

During the event, Busan Metropolitan City also promoted the brand of “Startup City Busan” to global investors, corporations, and Saudi government officials. On the first day, K-Startup Night provided a platform for networking among local buyers, investors, and media representatives with participating companies in the K-Startup Pavilion, building new connections and opening possibilities for investment and collaboration in the Middle East.

Lee Jin-su, Director of Financial Startup Policy at Busan Metropolitan City, stated,
“The participation in BIBAN 2025 is a valuable opportunity to highlight the technological strength and innovative capacity of Busan’s startups on the global stage. We will continue to foster global investment and cooperation, establish a solid foundation for advancing into the Middle Eastern market, and strengthen connections with the global startup ecosystem so that local startups can compete and grow on an even broader stage.”