Korean SME development model shared with Vietnam ... INNOBIZ Association expands policy cooperation

[Financial News]
Cooperation to share Korea’s experience in fostering technology-innovative SMEs and its support systems with Vietnam is gaining momentum. The aim is to help Vietnam develop policies to foster local businesses by sharing Korea’s SME support framework, from assessing business competitiveness to digital transformation and performance evaluation.  The INNOBIZ Association said on the 8th that it had held a completion ceremony on the 6th at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Training Center in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, for a global training program titled “Strengthening Corporate Management Governance and Innovation Capacity at the Department of Private Enterprise and Cooperative Economy Development of Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance.”
 This training was the first-year program in a global training initiative running for three years, from 2026 to 2028. Participants included officials from agencies involved in economic and business policy, including the Department of Private Enterprise and Cooperative Economy Development at Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Committee, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Hue City People’s Committee, and the Government Office.
 The training covered Korea’s economic development and SME support policies, as well as its system for certifying technology-innovative SMEs, frameworks for assessing business competitiveness and evaluating performance, digital transformation (DX), and sustainable management based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
 Participants attended the 2026 AIoT International Exhibition at COEX in Seoul and visited the INNOBIZ Association and Seoul Future Lab, among other places, to learn about examples of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in Korea and see how innovative companies are fostered.
 The INNOBIZ Association plans to gradually expand the scope of the training, starting with this program. This year, it will focus on assessing business competitiveness and strengthening governance capabilities; in 2027, it will expand the training to cover digital-based business support and management capabilities; and in 2028, it will focus on strengthening data-based follow-up management and monitoring capabilities.
 Kim Hong-seok, acting executive vice chairman of the INNOBIZ Association, said, “Through this training, we shared Korea’s business development policies and examples of governance practices with Vietnamese policymakers,” adding, “I hope this training program will serve as an opportunity to develop Vietnam’s private-sector economic policies and expand economic exchanges between the two countries.”
 Trade Counselor Dao Trong Tien of the Embassy of Vietnam in Korea emphasized, “This training is closely linked to the Vietnamese government’s strategies for developing the private-sector economy and fostering the cooperative economy,” adding, “Directly experiencing Korea’s business development policies and innovation examples will provide an important foundation for formulating business management policies in Vietnam in the future.”
 The INNOBIZ Association manages the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ certification system for technology-innovative SMEs (INNOBIZ) and supports overseas technology exchanges and market development. It is currently carrying out projects including capacity-building for industrial officials in Timor-Leste, training to strengthen innovation capacity in El Salvador’s Fourth Industrial Revolution system, and a smart factory adoption project in Indonesia. As of the end of October, there were 23,585 INNOBIZ companies nationwide.

[email protected] Lee Ju-mi Reporter