"Innovative SMEs: Overseas Market Entry Is Not a Choice but a Survival Strategy"

Kim Myung-jin, MainBiz Association Chairman, at Press Conference: "China, an Unmissable Huge Market"
"Actively Supporting Global Expansion of Innovative SMEs in China, Russia, Vietnam, etc."

Kim Myung-jin, chairman of the Korea Management Innovation Small and Medium Business Association (MAINBiz Association), stated on the 29th, "For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that heavily rely on domestic demand, entering overseas markets is not a choice but a survival strategy for sustainable growth."

At a MAINBiz Association press conference held in Yeouido, Seoul, under the theme "Innovative SMEs: Global Market Entry is Not a Choice but a Survival Strategy," Chairman Kim said, "Innovative SMEs drive the nation's economic innovation growth by generating 2 to 3 times the performance compared to general SMEs, but only 23.1% of them are export companies," emphasizing this point.

Kim Myung-jin, Chairman of the Korea Management Innovation Small and Medium Business Association (MainBiz Association), is delivering opening remarks at a press conference held on the 29th at Oebaek, Yeouido, Seoul.
[Photo by MainBiz Association]

MAINBiz companies are management innovation SMEs selected by the government based on the OECD’s corporate innovation guideline, the 'Oslo Manual.' The term 'MAINBiz' is derived from the initials of Management INnovation Business.

Chairman Kim introduced the achievements and future plans of the global expansion support projects that the MAINBiz Association has been promoting, saying, "The MAINBiz Association is carrying out various projects to support the global expansion of MAINBiz companies."

The MAINBiz Association plans to support the global expansion of MAINBiz companies through initiatives such as the ▲2024 Zhengzhou Korea-China Innovation Enterprise Exchange Forum ▲establishment of the MAINBiz Global Committee ▲formation and operation of the MAINBiz Global Advisors.

The '2024 Zhengzhou Korea-China Innovation Enterprise Exchange Forum' will be held from the 27th to the 30th of next month over a 3-night, 4-day schedule, with participation from 50 domestic SMEs, officials from the Zhengzhou Aviation Port Economic Zone in China, companies interested in exchanges, and representatives of investment firms, totaling over 120 participants. The event aims to produce tangible results for MAINBiz companies’ entry into the Chinese market through Korea-China business and institutional exchange meetings, export consultation sessions, individual consultations related to import/export and collaboration, and exchange meetings.

A 'MAINBiz Global Committee' composed of association executives and external experts will be newly established to develop support projects for MAINBiz companies’ global expansion and to strengthen the global network by identifying regulatory difficulties related to global expansion.

Additionally, about 20 local trade experts from 20 countries across Asia, America, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, Russia, and the CIS region will be organized as 'MAINBiz Global Advisors (MGA).' They will actively support MAINBiz companies’ global market entry by discovering and introducing local buyers, conducting local market research by product, managing export consortiums locally, and hosting export consultation meetings.

This year, the association supported MAINBiz companies’ global expansion through projects such as the ▲2024 MAINBiz Global Business Forum ▲Korea-China SME mutual development exchange cooperation agreement ▲2024 MAINBiz Trade Delegation ▲Vietnam K-Innovation Delegation visit.

Through the '2024 MAINBiz Global Business Forum' held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in January, market information and networks for entry into Indonesia were established. In April, after signing a 'Korea-China SME Mutual Development Exchange Cooperation Agreement' with Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China, the association visited China to create opportunities to strengthen the global network of MAINBiz companies.

In August, the '2024 MAINBiz Trade Delegation,' consisting of 27 members, visited the Aviation Port Economic Comprehensive Experimental Zone in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, establishing a cooperation network for SME import and export and successfully matching a total of 10 companies through business matching between Korean and Chinese companies.

Furthermore, at the end of August, the association participated as the executing agency for the 'Vietnam K-Innovation Delegation' promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Among the 25 participating SMEs, 9 companies signed strategic agreements with local Vietnamese companies, marking a significant step toward full-scale entry into the Vietnamese market.

Chairman Kim said, "China has great geographical advantages and is an enormous consumer market that cannot be abandoned," adding, "We have discussed plans to establish a Korea-China business meeting platform and expect to achieve tangible results." He also stated, "Following China, we will actively support member companies’ entry into Russia, Vietnam, and other regions, and do our best to help member companies scale up through global expansion."

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