Public Institutions Choose Large Market for Purchasing SME Products

Over 400 One-on-One Purchase Consultation Sessions Held

A major marketplace opens for public institutions to purchase products from domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 5th that it will hold the ‘2024 Public Procurement Matching Day’ at EL Tower in Yangjae-dong, Seoul. This event is designed to support SMEs with technological capabilities in entering the public market through purchase consultations and networking between public institutions and SMEs, and to promote the purchase of SME products by public institutions.

The Public Procurement Matching Day is being held for the second time following last year. Participating SMEs include those holding performance certifications and those with products under the pilot purchase program for technology development. Performance certification is a system that verifies and certifies the performance of products developed by SMEs, enabling public institutions to prioritize purchasing them. Products under the pilot purchase program are those produced through a system where public institutions make pilot purchases to support initial market entry.

On the day of the event, approximately 250 participants, including SMEs producing excellent technology development products and public institution procurement officers, will take part in ▲ one-on-one purchase consultations between SMEs and public institutions ▲ education on the pilot purchase system for technology development products ▲ and meetings with local public enterprises.

The purchase consultation will involve 70 public institutions such as Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, Korea National Park Service, and Kangwon Land, along with about 70 companies. Up to 8 consultations per company will be conducted, totaling approximately 400 one-on-one purchase consultations. Additionally, in the public institution meetings, procurement officers from about 20 institutions including Seoul Metro and Ulsan Urban Corporation will be briefed on public procurement systems such as pilot purchases. They will listen to difficulties experienced in public procurement and discuss ways to revitalize the public procurement system.

Choi Won-young, Director of Global Growth Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Public Procurement Matching Day is an opportunity for SMEs struggling to enter the public procurement market to meet directly with public institutions," adding, "The Ministry will continue to work closely with public institutions to ensure that the public procurement system becomes a foundation for the growth of SMEs."