The progress of the project: “Collaboration for Internationalization Exchange of Bulgarian and Korean SMEs” was presented at an official seminar at Hilton Hotel on March 29. During the seminar, the Korean experts, together with the Bulgarian local consultants, presented the four topics of the research and analysis of metrics and tools to support SMEs:
– The role of the government for the potential of the Bulgarian SMEs;
– Policies and strategies for GVC entry of Bulgarian SMEs;
– Strengthening Technical Capacity for internationalization of Bulgarian SMEs;
– Providing vocational education system and trainings to the Bulgarian SMEs.
The event was launched by the leading project organizations – Prof. Jongil Kim from Dongguk University – researcher at KDI and Mr. Todor Mladenov – Executive Director of Sofia Tech Park. Special guest of the event was Ambassador Jeong Jinkyu, who welcomed the initiative and encouraged current and future co-operation between Bulgaria and the Republic of Korea. The seminar was supported by a numerous of Bulgarian and Korean institutions and organizations, including the Ministry of Economy, the Bulgarian Small and Medium sized Promotion Agency, the Bulgarian Investment Agency, the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representatives of the Faculty of Economics, Sofia University and UNWE, actively involved in the development of new tools for the promotion of entrepreneurship. Young companies interested in market development also participated in a special Q & A session, as well as the Fund of Funds, NOEMA, Economic Research Institute at BAS, representatives of the Strategic Council of the Presidency and organizations that are a major factor in the development of bilateral business relations between the two countries – KOTRA and Global Commercialization Center of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technogoly (KAIST).
The seminar presented the fruitful joint work between Sofia Tech Park and the Korean Development Institute during the last 9 months in which the Science Technology Park hosted numerous seminars and workshops with Korean experts who gave advises to Bulgarian institutions on improving SMEs support policies. The project was funded by the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Korea and gave the opportunity to the local Bulgarian consultants to build on their expertise and to guide small and medium-sized companies how to realize their potential in foreign markets. The participation of Sofia Tech Park as the main partner of the winning project initiated a series of meetings and established a dialogue between Bulgarian institutions as well as between educational organizations in Bulgaria dealing with professional improvement and team trainings’ inside the organization. The realization of the project has become a bridge to build strong links between the two countries.
Throughout the project was determined one of the main factors for the successful internationalization of the start-up companies through the integration into foreign business incubators, where they could get a detailed picture of the market, as well as legal, accounting, financial and management services. The presentations during the seminar highlighted the interrelations between education and business, which Bulgaria should continue to deepen not only at universities, but also through increasing presence of business teaching in vocational schools, as well as by providing services to the companies interested in improve the team’s qualification.
Sofia Tech Park will distribute the results from the report with recommendations and guidelines for action plan to start-ups. It is expected to be broadcast in June, when Bulgarian institutions will be able to use the new models and implement the most appropriate in future policies.