Busan Innovation Center Wins Ministerial Award for Nurturing 2,374 Startups

Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center (Busan CCEI) has received a ministerial award from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in recognition of its contributions to building the regional startup ecosystem. Marking its 10th anniversary, Busan CCEI was commended for leading the growth of regional ventures and startups by establishing a support system spanning the entire startup lifecycle.

Busan CCEI announced on January 15 that it received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award in the "Venture Startup Promotion Merit (Private Ecosystem Development)" category at the "2025 Busan Regional SME Vitalization Merit Awards Ceremony" held at Lotte Hotel Busan. The ceremony was organized by the Busan Regional Office of SMEs and Startups.

The center was highly praised for building a comprehensive startup support system covering all stages from pre-startup to early-stage and growth phases. Operating approximately 20 startup support programs annually, it has discovered and nurtured a cumulative 2,374 startups, generating 875.2 billion won in revenue, 5,378 new jobs, and 251 billion won in investment.

Busan CCEI has also played a prominent role in creating the regional venture investment ecosystem. Since registering as a public accelerator in 2019, it has established and operated funds totaling 11.7 billion won, improving early-stage startups' access to capital.

Open innovation is another notable achievement. To expand the collaboration structure between large and mid-sized enterprises and startups—typically concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area—to regional markets, Busan CCEI connected 52 large, mid-sized, and small companies, including Lotte affiliates, with startups. This resulted in 53 proof-of-concept (PoC) projects and 675 business meetups. Twelve cases led to actual contract signings. Even after program completion, 109 additional PoC projects and meetups have followed, forming a sustainable cooperative ecosystem.

The center is also strengthening global expansion support. Busan CCEI has established cooperation bases centered on Europe and Asia to help regional startups enter overseas markets. It assists companies in building global references through participation in major international exhibitions including CES, the world's largest IT and consumer electronics show. Since 2022, it has expanded its workation program—initially funded through the Local Extinction Response Fund—to a global scale, working to attract companies from outside the region and bring in overseas startups and talent.

"This award is the result of our diverse efforts over the past 10 years to revitalize the regional startup ecosystem through open innovation, fund creation, workation programs, and startup infrastructure development," said Kim Yong-woo, CEO of Busan CCEI. "We will continue to proactively respond to the changing startup environment and strengthen our role as a startup hub that connects the region to the global market."