On August 23, the Small and Medium Business Technology Innovation Association (InnoBiz) announced the completion of a training program for East Timorese officials aimed at enhancing their capabilities in industrial policy.
This training is part of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) global training project, which will be implemented over three years from 2026 to 2028.
The inaugural session took place from August 9 to 22 at the KOICA training center in Seongnam, South Korea, with 17 participants, including Odete Belo, Director of the Manufacturing Industry Department of the East Timor Ministry of Commerce.
The training covered five key topics: the role of small and medium enterprises in Korea's economic development, policies for fostering technology-driven SMEs, the policy environment for SMEs in the global and ASEAN context, digital transformation (DX), and startup support policies. Participants also visited the Seoul AI Summit & Expo, Tip Town, Incheon Startup Park, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology's Manufacturing AI Research Center, and the Lotte Chilsung Beverage Anseong Plant.
Based on the lectures and site visits, the participants developed an 'Action Plan for SME Development' tailored for East Timor. This plan will be submitted as a policy improvement task to the East Timor Ministry of Commerce and will be further refined in the second and third years of the training program.
Antonio de Sa Benevides, the East Timorese Ambassador to South Korea, stated, "The application of Korea's SME policies and innovation ecosystem will be reflected in the formulation of East Timor's SME policies. I hope this training will lead to sustained cooperation between our two countries."
Jeong Kwang-cheon, President of InnoBiz, remarked, "With East Timor's accession to ASEAN, the scope for regional economic cooperation is expanding. We aim to establish a foundation for cooperation between businesses in both countries by sharing Korea's SME policies and examples of fostering technology-driven enterprises."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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