Ministry of SMEs and Startups

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     
Nov. 8, 2024                                      
                                              
 
K-Startup Pavilion to Feature at BIBAN 2024, Middle East's Largest Startup Event

SEJONG – The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has announced its participation in BIBAN 2024, the largest startup event in the Middle East, which will be held from November 5 to 9, 2024, at the Front Exhibition and Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This year, 24 promising K-startups aiming to enter the Middle East market will take part in the pavilion, with support from the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, and the Jeonbuk Business Agency.

At the opening ceremony of BIBAN 2024, Minister OH delivered a keynote speech, reinforcing MSS's commitment to supporting K-startups. Minister OH emphasized said, "MSS is dedicated to helping our startups fully showcase their capabilities and make a meaningful impact in this land of opportunities, the Middle East. We believe they can achieve remarkable results beyond expectations."

In addition to the pavilion, BIBAN 2024 will host the global finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) 2024, a premier international startup competition organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority of Saudi Arabia and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). The EWC will feature top startup teams from 151 countries, with the 100 best teams (EWC100) advancing to compete for a share of the competition's $1 million prize pool, along with valuable investment opportunities and market-entry support in Saudi Arabia.

As part of its collaboration with EWC 2024, MSS and KISED will also oversee the EWC Korea preliminaries. Six standout Korean startups have been selected to represent Korea in the global finals (EWC100).

About BIBAN
‘BIBAN’ means “door” in Arabic and is the largest startup event in the Middle East, organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority of Saudi Arabia (Monsha’at). It began in 2017 and was expanded into an international event starting in 2023. ‘BIBAN 2024’ will feature the overarching theme of “Global Destination for Opportunities” and will consist of nine ‘Doors’ forums. Approximately 1,350 exhibitors and over 160,000 attendees from around the world are expected to participate.