Export-focused Activity
The government has decided to accelerate the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), create an ecosystem for startups and ventures aimed at the global market, and roll out policies for SMEs to make a global leap.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the “SME Promotion Comprehensive Plan (2023-2025)” on July 11. This is a legal plan established every three years under the SME Basic Act, which sets the direction for SME policies.
The Ministry plans to achieve an “SME and Venture 50+” vision through the SME export drive, support the leap to a global startup nation with comprehensive support for ventures and startups, and promote strategies to nurture entrepreneurial small business owners and enhance the safety net.
The SME and Venture 50+ vision aims for SMEs to account for over 50% of total company sales and over 50% of total exports. To this end, the Ministry will reorganize the Export Business Incubator (BI), a space for overseas expansion of SMEs and ventures operating in 12 countries, into the Global Business Center (GBC). It will also expand events that combine K-pop performances and export expos.
Moreover, the Ministry will continue to digitize and advance the manufacturing sites of SMEs. It will also strive to spread a culture of mutual growth between large and small enterprises. They plan to establish a pathway to connect various technology protection support policies scattered across departments in a customized manner.
The scale of the global fund that supports startup investment and overseas expansion will be expanded to 8.6 trillion won this year. They will create Korean-style innovation clusters that meet global standards for developing new products in advanced fields and for overseas expansion. They plan to jointly foster startups with global companies such as Google, Oracle, and Nvidia, promoting their entry into the global market.
They will support more than 2 trillion won to 1,000 “super-gap startups” that possess unique new industry technologies capable of entering the global market over the next five years. They are also considering creating a virtual startup ecosystem K-Starverse that provides various support in a virtual space. They will also newly establish an open innovation platform that connects startups and medium and large-sized enterprises that want to collaborate in a customized manner.