Naver Partners with KOTRA to Support Global Expansion of Small and Medium Businesses

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Naver is partnering with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their global expansion.

On the 10th, Naver announced that it has signed a strategic business agreement with KOTRA to connect export and overseas expansion experts active on Knowledge iN Expert with SMEs.

Recently, due to the domestic economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many SMEs, including small businesses, have shown active interest in global expansion but face practical issues such as product translation and FTA-related precautions.

Through this agreement, Naver Knowledge iN Expert and KOTRA plan to secure experts in 16 fields, including customs duties, distribution management, trade contracts, and interpretation/translation, to address the real difficulties faced by SMEs and support about 200 small businesses lacking professional personnel.

According to a preliminary survey conducted by KOTRA this year targeting about 5,600 companies participating in the new export company project, over 68% of businesses expressed the need for and willingness to utilize a global professional support platform.

Businesses requested consultations and assistance regarding customs procedures and tax relations in the target countries when entering overseas markets with domestic and international patent technologies, restrictions on foreign companies, product ingredient labeling methods, and customs duty refunds.

In response, Naver and KOTRA plan to connect SMEs with experts such as customs brokers, tax accountants, and accountants through Knowledge iN Expert coupon distribution throughout November and expand cooperative projects including a free automatic translation system in the future.

Kang Chunsik, leader of Naver Knowledge iN Expert, said, "Based on the difficulties SMEs have shared through this support program, we plan to gradually add services in areas with concentrated demand," adding, "We will do our best to enhance the export capabilities of SMEs that find it difficult to build their own professional workforce."

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