Held for Two Days on the 17th and 18th at Busan BEXCO
Support, Promotion, and Exhibition of Innovative SMEs' Exports
From the 17th for two days, companies set up exhibition booths introducing their services at the '2023 Small and Medium Business Technology and Management Innovation Expo' held at BEXCO in Busan.
The Innobiz Association announced on the 18th that it successfully held the largest domestic technology innovation event, the ‘2023 Small and Medium Enterprise Technology and Management Innovation Expo,’ at BEXCO in Busan, with over 6,000 SME employees and related organizations participating.
Under the theme ‘Innovative SMEs Changing the World,’ this event focused on five key areas: carbon neutrality, global markets, research and development (R&D) innovation, digital transformation, and technology protection. It explored the direction of Korea’s innovative growth led by manufacturing innovation Innobiz companies.
This year, the event expanded by integrating the ‘SME Technology Innovation Expo,’ which started in 2000, and the ‘SME Management Innovation Competition,’ held since 2018. The purpose was to create new innovative business models through the convergence of technology and management.
The official ceremony, the ‘SME Innovation Merit Awards,’ opened with a keynote speech titled ‘Future SME and Venture Business Policies’ by Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups.
A total of 228 awards were presented to individuals recognized for outstanding achievements in technology innovation and other fields, who anticipated changes in the world and produced excellent results through innovative DNA. Awards included 3 medals, 4 plaques, 20 presidential citations, 30 prime minister citations, and 171 ministerial citations from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
The innovation exhibition was organized into themed policy halls and an innovation exhibition hall, focusing on the five key areas: carbon neutrality, global markets, R&D innovation, digital transformation, and technology protection, featuring innovative companies.
On the 18th, the Innobiz Association held the '2023 Technology Export Strategy Seminar' at BEXCO in Busan to support technology-based overseas expansion of manufacturing innovation SMEs.
At the ‘Themed Policy Hall,’ organizing institutions such as the Innobiz Association, Mainbiz Association, Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, Smart Manufacturing Innovation Promotion Group, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries, and Industry-Academia-Research Association set up promotional booths. These organizations introduced major policies supporting SMEs.
In the ‘Innovation Exhibition Hall,’ 84 companies participated, showcasing and promoting their achievements at booths arranged by key focus areas. The association separately organized the ‘Technology Innovation Hall,’ representing the event, featuring the ‘Innobiz of the Month’ (22 companies cumulatively selected since October last year) representing manufacturing innovation, along with companies of technology innovation merit awardees, creating a space to preview the ‘future shaped by innovative SMEs.’
The ‘Innovation Conference,’ consisting of thematic presentations and seminars sharing experts’ innovation know-how, included a technical skills competition with outstanding specialized high school talents, a carbon neutrality conference, an R&D innovation conference, and a digital transformation conference. Among these, the association hosted the ‘Technology Protection Conference’ focusing on intellectual property (IP) protection strategies for successful technology exchange. It also organized the ‘Global Conference’ on strategies for entering the global defense market, technology exports, and profit generation through factory entry.
The association also held the ‘Innobiz PR Day’ in conjunction to promote the excellence of technology innovation Innobiz companies externally and enhance brand value. Two companies among the technology innovation merit awardees were pre-selected to present their corporate presentations and technology introductions, along with product demonstrations through exhibition tours and networking time with specialized SME journalists.
Im Byung-hoon, president of the Innobiz Association, stated, “Those who have achieved great growth through technology innovation amid complex crises are the protagonists of today’s event,” and added, “I hope Korea’s diverse innovative technologies and management will harmonize to become innovative business models leading changes in the world.”
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