Ministry of SMEs and Startups Opens Second Recruitment for 'Public Procurement Mentorship Program'

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 18th that it will recruit applicants for the 2nd public procurement mentoring program from the 19th until July 17.

This program supports the entry of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) products into the public procurement market through win-win cooperation between large and small businesses, promoting sales channels for core materials and components companies and strengthening the innovation capabilities of SMEs.

As a result of applications and submissions following the first recruitment announcement, 22 projects applied, and through face-to-face and on-site evaluations and a review committee, 10 projects were finally selected as targets for win-win cooperation support.

Among them, three materials and components projects aim to improve product quality and innovation through win-win cooperation with large companies producing materials and components, and seven innovation growth projects support products produced through cooperation between mentor companies and small enterprises that have technology but lack production capacity.

An exemplary case among the materials and components projects selected in the first recruitment announcement is that SMEs producing video surveillance devices signed a win-win agreement with Hanwha Techwin, which possesses AI technology for security cameras, and for the first time in Korea, supplied AI video surveillance devices to public institutions.

Hanwha Techwin plans to supply AI security cameras, the first domestically applied technology, to SMEs by signing a win-win agreement with SMEs producing video surveillance devices, and to have SMEs supply CCTV finished products, which had been controversial due to the use of overseas parts, to the public procurement market.

The main contents of the win-win agreement between Hanwha Techwin and SMEs include product planning and development technology support, quality control of materials and components, and sales support for sales cooperation, so the SMEs that signed the agreement expect to pioneer sales channels not only in the public procurement market but also in overseas markets.

Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, “Through this program, win-win cooperation between large and small companies will be activated, promoting sales channels for materials and components companies and strengthening the innovation capabilities of SMEs,” adding, “We will promptly push forward the revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of Purchase of Small and Medium Enterprise Products and Support for Sales Channels to expand the scope of the program to the entire procurement market.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.