Local Governments Collaborate with Regional SMEs to Explore Overseas Markets

Icheon City Holds Export Consultations Worth 12 Billion KRW with 8 Companies in the US
Yongin City Also Achieves 3.7 Billion KRW Export Consultations in the US and Canada

Local governments in Gyeonggi Province, including Icheon and Yongin, are achieving consecutive successes by pioneering overseas markets together with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their jurisdictions. In particular, these local governments are providing side support to individual SMEs through airfare subsidies, pre-consulting, interpretation and translation, buyer matchmaking, and market research.

According to local governments on the 20th, Icheon City dispatched a market development team to New York and Los Angeles in the United States from the 11th to the 17th, together with eight manufacturing companies in the city. The market development team included Darae World, Zicobil, Korea Education System, Migain F&B, Jaewon Global Net, Hongik CMS, Daseon, and Woo & Joo, selected through the city’s document evaluation and local partner’s marketability assessment.

The Icheon City Overseas Market Development Team is determined to successfully develop overseas markets in New York, USA.
[Photo by Icheon City]

The market development team achieved 46 export consultations worth $9 million (approximately 12 billion KRW) locally, and the city explained that $4.86 million of this is currently under contract negotiation.

Since 2017, Icheon City has dispatched overseas market development teams to 10 cities in 8 countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of dispatching teams directly, the city supported companies’ overseas market development through video consultations with 13 countries.

The city provides companies with support such as ▲local consultation venue and vehicle rental fees ▲interpretation ▲buyer sourcing and consultation arrangement ▲50% airfare subsidies.

Kim Kyung-hee, mayor of Icheon City, said, “Despite the difficult high exchange rate situation, our companies are steadily challenging overseas market entry and achieving results,” adding, “The city will continue to actively support Icheon companies to expand globally.”

Yongin City also dispatched a market development team to Los Angeles, USA, and Vancouver, Canada, for six days from the 11th to the 16th, together with six local SMEs. This market development team marks the city’s first entry into the North American market since COVID-19.

The Yongin City North America Market Development Team is taking a commemorative photo on-site in LA, USA. [Photo by Yongin City]

The Yongin North American market development team included 'Rio Company,' a manufacturer of work gloves; 'FD Five,' an agricultural corporation producing organic compound fertilizers; 'Sulssem,' an agricultural corporation manufacturing traditional liquor; 'Gripin,' a manufacturer of wooden diffuser holders; 'CreaCube,' a developer of ICT learning tools; and 'Nice India,' a multifunctional insect screen manufacturer.

The team conducted 21 business consultations worth $2.28 million (approximately 3.03 billion KRW) in LA and 21 consultations worth $500,000 (approximately 670 million KRW) in Vancouver, with contracts worth $1.18 million and $150,000 respectively pending. Among them, Sulssem signed an on-site contract worth $20,000 with a local Canadian buyer, and Gripin signed a contract worth $4,500.

Yongin City supported pre-export consultations for participating companies through the city’s untact export consultation event in July. Export mentors from Yongin also visited these six companies to provide consulting before overseas dispatch. Additionally, the city supported each company with airfare (50% per person), interpretation and translation personnel, buyer matching, and market research.

A Yongin City official said, “The dispatch of this market development team was an opportunity to confirm the competitiveness of local companies in the North American market,” adding, “We will continue to support local companies in pioneering overseas sales channels.”

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