Central Association and Ministry of SMEs Recruit Industry-Specific Host Organizations for Promising Overseas Exhibitions for SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KOSME) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 26th that they will recruit lead organizations for the "2023-2025 Promising Export Consortium Project" by the 15th of next month. The project aims to provide continuous overseas marketing support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participating in global promising exhibitions, focusing on promising and strategic export items.

In particular, if selected as a strategic task among these global promising exhibitions, the standard unit price for exhibition setup will be expanded to promote a premium Korean pavilion that goes beyond simple exhibition space by applying designs and operational methods aligned with the latest industry trends.

The lead organizations will support stable exhibition operations for three consecutive years by securing prime exhibition spaces through long-term contracts when participating in overseas exhibitions and pre-recruiting promising export SMEs. This will enable participating SMEs to continuously interact with overseas buyers and achieve export results.

Eligible lead organizations for participation include cooperatives, associations, and other industry-specific SME groups, specialized trading companies, and exhibition professional companies. Selected lead organizations will recruit SMEs by industry and product category according to the exhibition schedule.

The support includes more than 70% coverage of total expenses such as ▲export consulting and overseas marketing ▲exhibition space rental and setup ▲interpretation fees for smooth product consultations ▲one-way shipping costs.

Jeon Hye-sook, head of the Trade Promotion Department at KOSME, stated, "Over the past two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs' expectations for offline direct participation in overseas exhibitions and face-to-face export consultations with buyers have been high." She added, "We hope that small business cooperatives and industry associations will actively apply for the project so that overseas marketing activities of our companies through global promising exhibitions can be vigorously resumed."