The city of Busan has announced plans to host the Asian Startup Expo “FLY ASIA 2023” from October 5th to 8th, aimed at supporting promising startups in attracting investment and expanding overseas through connections and collaborations between leading startup cities in Asia. The Expo will take place at the second exhibition hall of BEXCO for four days.
The inaugural Asian Startup Expo, held last year, was intended as a launching pad for startups across Asia to rise together under the slogan “Connect Asia, Fly to the World”. This year, the Expo is organized under the theme “From Cities to Startups”, embodying the will that startups can solve the pressing issues of the city.
FLY ASIA 2023, themed “From Cities to Startups”, will comprise of various programs such as the Leaders Summit, conferences, awards, networking events, and booth exhibitions. Key attendees include over 1,000 local and international startup representatives, over 500 investors, and over 10,000 visitors.
The Expo will feature the Leaders Summit for discussing cooperation between startup cities, Venture Capital Forum for discussing development plans for the venture investment ecosystem centered around international mother funds, and Scaleup Showcase for viewing investment descriptions of excellent startups. Furthermore, the startup competition “FLY ASIA Awards” will serve to discover and link investments for excellent Asian startups.
This year, a special program known as CINE FLY, which is dedicated to the film, video, and content sector in collaboration with the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), will be introduced for the first time.
The FLY ASIA Awards, a competition to showcase innovative startups, serves to unearth promising Asian startups, provide awards, and support investment links and international expansion. Applications for participation are being accepted through the official FLY ASIA website from July 26th to 6 PM on August 4th.
After the application deadline, 50 startup companies will be selected through screening. During the main event, a final round will be held, with a total of 180,000 dollars in prize money being awarded to the final 10 companies. The winners will also receive support for subsequent growth through matchmaking with domestic and foreign investors.
Mayor Park said, “In uncertain and rapidly changing economic conditions, startups have provided creative solutions to social problems and created new economic platforms.” He added, “We will make FLY ASIA the largest startup event in Asia, supporting the growth of innovative startups and expanding opportunities for investment attraction and overseas expansion.”
