KOTRA signs MOU with World Korean Alliance to support small businesses' overseas expansion

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency signed an MOU with the World Korean Alliance on Monday at Songdo Convensia in Incheon to cooperate on supporting small and midsize Korean companies' overseas expansion, KOTRA announced Tuesday.

Founded in 2021, the World Korean Alliance is a nonprofit association made up of current and former heads of Korean community organizations in 76 countries. It works to connect Korean communities worldwide and promote cultural and economic exchange between the diaspora and South Korea.

Under the agreement, the two sides will pursue mutual information sharing to help small and midsize companies expand abroad, cooperate on overseas market development and business exchange events, and facilitate investment by overseas Korean investors in Korean companies and local governments.

"We will enhance support for small and midsize companies' overseas expansion by combining KOTRA's global network with the personal experience and expertise of the World Korean Alliance, which represents Korean community organizations around the world," KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung said.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mexico, KOTRA held a Korean Excellence Products Exhibition in Mexico City this month. A total of 59 South Korean companies in the K-beauty, food, culture and goods sectors participated, and 123 buyers — including 22 companies from neighboring Latin American countries — visited the two-day exhibition.

"We plan to continue supporting small and midsize companies in expanding overseas and developing new markets, while also working to diversify export products, including consumer goods," a KOTRA official said.