Saudi Arabia's largest startup event, BIBAN, has concluded in Riyadh. Organized by Monsha'at, the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, the event was attended by more than 350 speakers, 550 companies, and more than 105,000 visitors. South Korea's Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young-young was invited as a keynote speaker, and 10 K-Startups participated.
Saudi Arabia has recently been working to support its startup ecosystem, which led to the establishment of a startup accelerator called BIBAN in 2016. BIBAN runs three cohorts, each of which goes through a three-month accelerator program to grow their startups.
Since its inception, the number of exhibitors has grown significantly, with a total of more than 500 companies participating in 2023. Participating companies included government organizations, banks, public companies, and universities, as well as foreign companies, logistics companies, trading companies, food companies, restaurants, and cafes. This shows that BIBAN is not only focused on fostering SMEs and startups, but also a place where entrepreneurial companies from various fields and visitors can freely share their ideas and discover collaboration opportunities.
In addition to supporting the startup ecosystem, BIBAN also plays a big role in revitalizing the local economy. Saudi Arabia's economy is heavily dependent on oil exports, so it is seeking to diversify its economy by exploring new business sectors and driving technological innovation. To achieve this goal, Veevan is actively promoting collaboration with local and foreign startup companies to revitalize the local economy.
VIVAN is one of the largest startup accelerators in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Veevan is home to startups from a wide range of sectors, including leading companies in artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things. By supporting the growth of these companies, Veevan is helping to revitalize the local economy and promote technological innovation.
Saudi Arabia has made significant efforts to support its startup ecosystem over the past few years. As a result of these efforts, the kingdom is positioning itself as one of the world's economic centers and will provide more support for more startups to grow through accelerators like Veevan.
Shukran Korea's CEO Seung Kim recently attended VIVAN and Dubai Derma, two of the world's leading startup fairs in Saudi Arabia, where Shukran Korea signed an exclusive agreement with Zetema. Zetema is a world-renowned filler and Botox company, and Shukran Korea will be the exclusive distributor of Zetema's products in the UAE market. With this agreement, Shukran Korea will be able to offer a more diverse product lineup and make it easier for customers to access Zetema's products, which are highly popular in the Korean market.
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