South Korea’s venture firms appeared to be increasingly emerging as the new growth engine of the economy, according to figures from the Small and Medium Business Administration released Monday.

Of the 69,801 venture firms in the country, 454 reported over 100 billion won ($97.6 million) in sales last year, up 9.1 percent from 2012. The number has steadily increased from 78 in 2005 to 202 in 2008 and 381 in 2011, the SMBA said.

The combined sales of the venture firms were tallied at 101.2 trillion won in 2013, accounting for 7.1 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic production.

About half the companies were manufacturers, while 33.4 percent were electronics parts and chip producers. Another 6.3 percent were software and information technology firms.