The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 20th that it held a launch ceremony for the "APEC Startup Alliance," joined by delegations from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and stakeholders in each country's startup ecosystem.
The APEC Startup Alliance is an organization to expand consolidation and cooperation among member economies' startup ecosystems. It formalized its launch with the announcement of the "Jeju Initiative" at last year's APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting. Marking this launch ceremony, it established a cooperation framework with participation from both member governments and the private sector.
About 400 organizations and private stakeholders are participating, including the Korea Startup Forum, entrepreneur associations from each country, government agencies, accelerators (AC), venture capital (VC), and startup corporations. It shares startup policies and entrepreneurship-related information, and serves to support voluntary cooperation and joint project discovery through private networks. In connection with major international events, it will also share operating cases and cooperation outcomes of the APEC Startup Alliance.
In line with member consensus, the APEC Startup Alliance will promote: ▲ building networks among APEC member economy startup ecosystem stakeholders ▲ holding regular forums ▲ establishing an online platform to share startup ecosystem information.
Alongside the launch ceremony, a forum was also held to discuss linkage and cooperation directions among APEC member economies' startup ecosystems. A global investment attraction briefing with participation from Korea Venture Investment Corporation, the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC), global venture capital (VC), large corporations, and startups from each country was held, as well as consultations on guarantees based on the technological value of startup technologies.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "We hope the innovation that began with the APEC Startup Alliance will lead to greater cooperation and joint growth."