President Lee Sang-jik of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME).

A bridgehead to help Korean startups enter global markets was set up in India, the center of the new southern region in the world, following its opening in the U.S., the center of global startups in the world. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency on Aug. 6 set up the Korea SMEs and Startups Center in New Delhi, India.

President Lee Sang-jik of KOSME said the KSC center in New Delhi is a bridgehead for SMEs and Startups to enter the S.E. Asian region, the New Southern Market for Korea and KSC plans to open centers in Northern regions and N. Europe in the near future to try to develop next Unicorn enterprises.

The Korea SMEs & Startups Agency (KOSME) is a non-profit, government-funded organization established to implement government policies and programs for the sound growth and development of Korean SMEs.

To achieve its purpose, KOSME operates financial and non-financial programs for SMEs. Through financial programs, KOSME provides financing for SMEs to expand operations, develop new products and convert their business structures. With advisory programs including consulting, training, marketing and global cooperation programs, KOSME supports SMEs to enhance their global competitiveness.

Last month, the same center opened its presence in Seattle, in the state of Washington, in the U.S., where a number of key U.S. companies have head offices including Amazon to make the city full of the U.S. companies with global reform management operations.

India, too, is the business center in the Southeast Asia region, with the total population of 1.3 billion with the third largest purchasing power in the world and an annual average economic growth of 7 percent.

The new New Delhi center is expected to build an ecological structure with SMEs and Startups in India for mutual exchange for positive cooperation in such areas as information and policies.

Present at the opening ceremony were President Lee Sang-jik of KOSME, Amb. Shin Bong-gil to India, and a slew of local Indian dignitaries led by Director Alka Arora of the SMEs and Startups Business Bureau and Vice President Uida Kuma of SMEs and Startups Corp. of India - totaling some 80.

For 40 years since its establishment in 1979, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency has dedicated its energy to support the stable management and growth of small and medium enterprises. In addition, it has established itself as a one-stop comprehensive support organization for small and medium venture enterprises by providing support for each business including policy loan, export marketing, human resources development.

KOSME supports small and medium venture enterprises as an organization that is leading the way in creating people-oriented jobs, innovation growth, fair economy, and ecosystem creation which are the philosophy of government administration.

Officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency are gathered at the opening of the KSC Center in New Delhi, India, on Aug. 6. (Photos: KOSME)

The Korea SMEs and Start-up Agency (KOSME) and Phu Thai Group signed an agreement aiming to support South Korean enterprises in advertising and distributing their products in Vietnam.

KOSME CEO Lee Sang Jik said he hoped the event will contribute to improving the bilateral trade between the two countries.

Two-way trade has skyrocketed in the past from a modest US$500 million in 1992 to $60 billion in 2017 and approximately $63 billion in the last 11 months of 2018.

Vietnam and South Korea aimed to boost bilateral trade turnover to $100 billion by 2020 with a balanced trade direction, following an action plan signed between the two nations late last year.