Ministry of SMEs and Startups Calls for Companies to Participate in the '2nd Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 1st that it will recruit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the '2022 2nd Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Project,' which supports the costs required to obtain overseas standard certifications necessary for exports, until the 31st of this month.

The Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Project is a program that supports a portion (50% or 70%) of the costs required to obtain certifications demanded by export destination countries, such as certification fees, testing fees, and consulting fees, for SMEs wishing to export. In this second recruitment, approximately KRW 7.9 billion will be allocated to select around 255 companies. The project supports the acquisition of about 526 types of overseas certifications for SMEs with direct export amounts under USD 50 million in the previous year.

Recently, as global companies increasingly demand rigorous ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and carbon neutrality responses from their partners, our SMEs also face a growing need to proactively respond to new changes such as using eco-friendly raw materials and obtaining environmental certifications. In line with this shift in corporate management paradigms, from this year's second project, 34 new types of ESG and carbon neutrality-related certifications have been added, supporting a total of 52 types. Support is provided up to an annual maximum of KRW 100 million (4 cases) per company, with additional support of up to KRW 50 million (2 cases) for ESG and carbon neutrality-related certifications, allowing benefits of up to KRW 150 million in total.

Kang Ki-seong, Director of the Global Growth Policy Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, emphasized, “Through the Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Project, we are helping domestic SMEs overcome technical trade barriers and enter overseas markets,” adding, “We plan to continuously strengthen support in line with the changing domestic and international export environment, including ESG management.”

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