Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Startup Support Center (Director Kwon Dae-gyu) conducted online video consultations with overseas buyers at the Namwon Suite Hotel over two days, on the 16th and 17th, supporting export channels for small and medium-sized enterprises' products and achieving the expected export outcomes.

To support SMEs facing difficulties in overseas market access due to COVID-19, the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center and JBNU collaborated to assist 10 early-stage startups with export potential.

The consultation event involved 10 companies, including Deo Jeotgal Co., Algose, Ecos ENC Co., and Ustafarm. Through online video meetings with local buyers in Vietnam, the companies showcased the excellence of their products and assessed their export potential.

As a result, six companies achieved outcomes by signing MOUs totaling US$500,000.

In addition to buyer consultations, they conducted local consumer response surveys and local online promotion of the companies' products. The companies' products were also placed in the local offline exhibition (KORETOVIET) and the online promotion platform (KORETOVIET.COM), providing ongoing promotional channels and raising expectations for sustainable exports going forward.

JBNU Startup Support Center Director Kwon Dae-gyu said, "We will strive to identify quality buyers to help our companies enter global markets. We will also develop various overseas programs so that companies can expand into not only Vietnam but also other countries, and work toward their growth."

Meanwhile, the KORETOVIET Center in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, was established in April 2020 after Saigon Innovation Hub, a startup support institution under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, and the Jeonbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center signed a mutual cooperation agreement, with Saigon Innovation Hub providing the space free of charge for its establishment.