Abstract
It has been over two years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Various weaknesses of the global economic system that had existed before the pandemic have been exposed, and the need for an innovation system has become prominent. This research is aimed at finding such a system at a smaller scale for a key economic zone. Utilizing the theory of a national innovation system and content analysis method based on publications, the research shows that the Southern Key Economic Region can solve the bottleneck that weakens its pioneering position in the country’s economy by promoting its local innovative start-up ecosystem. The ecosystem is currently at the stage of activation (the earliest level in a four-stage lifecycle of activation, globalization, attraction, and integration). In order to move to the next level of globalization, in parallel with other general policy supports, the region should select some start-up sub-sectors to develop, using public procurement as leverage for start-ups.
Keywords: Start-up, innovation, key economic region, public procurement
