KOTRA and SEMAS Join Forces to Support Local Small Business Owners in Becoming Export Companies

In line with the government's "Five Key Regions and Three Special Zones" (5Geuk 3Teuk) balanced regional development policy, inter-agency cooperation to turn local small business owners into export companies is gaining momentum.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced that, following the launch of the "Export Hope 1000" project in February aimed at supporting regional small businesses and small business owners centered on the 5Geuk 3Teuk initiative, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) at KOTRA headquarters on April 14 to further enhance export performance among small business owners.

As of 2023, there are 6.13 million small business owners in Korea, accounting for approximately 74% of all small and medium-sized enterprises. However, only 0.8% of these small business owners are engaged in exports. Meanwhile, export-oriented SMEs record 17.2 times higher sales, 1.8 times higher operating profit, and 5.1 times more employment compared to domestic-focused SMEs. KOTRA stated that transforming local small business owners into export companies is expected to contribute significantly to revitalizing regional economies.

This agreement was established to increase the success of local small business owners with excellent products and ideas in becoming export-oriented companies. SEMAS will identify promising local small business owners for export, and by combining KOTRA's overseas network and export support services, the two organizations aim to boost export outcomes.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Small Enterprise and Market Service (Chairman In Tae-yeon) on April 14 at the KOTRA headquarters to enhance export performance of small business owners. KOTRA President Kyungseong Kang (fourth from the left), In Tae-yeon of the Small Enterprise and Market Service (fifth from the left), and officials from both organizations are taking a commemorative photo after signing the agreement. KOTRA.

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To this end, the agencies agreed to systematically support the following: discovering promising small business owners with products, ideas, and a willingness to export; prioritizing small businesses for participation in certain export support programs; facilitating entry into business-to-business (B2B) online distribution platforms; providing online and offline export marketing through KOTRA's overseas network; strengthening export capabilities and consulting; and connecting small business owners to policy funding programs.

The two organizations will collaborate on implementing the "Export Hope 1000" project as the first follow-up initiative to the MOU. "Export Hope 1000" is a newly launched KOTRA program for regional small businesses and small business owners, for which SEMAS and KOTRA have already jointly recruited participating companies.

By the application deadline on February 1, more than 650 companies had applied, and 206 were selected in the first round. "Export Hope 1000" is a five-year program that will provide intensive support for the exports of 1,000 regional small businesses and small business owners. The program offers mentoring and business strategy development by export specialists, AI-powered catalog production, use of the AI Trade Support Center, overseas buyer discovery and consultations through KOTRA's overseas offices, entry into online distribution platforms, and export logistics and consulting. KOTRA's overseas offices have already begun matching interested buyers and conducting online export consultations.

The two organizations also agreed to form a small business export support council that will include the 12 regional offices each of KOTRA and SEMAS. Through this council, they aim to continuously develop collaborative projects and systematically enhance the discovery and support of promising small business owners.

Kyungseong Kang, President of KOTRA, stated, "With the expansion of online distribution channels and the adoption of AI, opportunities for export are increasing for anyone with outstanding ideas and products. We will strengthen systematic support in cooperation with SEMAS and excellent small business owners so that more companies can achieve success in overseas markets and contribute to revitalizing local economies."

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