New opportunities for European companies in Japan and South Korea

A new EU Programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to penetrate the markets in Japan and South Korea /EU Business Hub – Japan and the Republic of Korea/ was presented at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in the presence of the Japanese Ambassador in Bulgaria H.E. Hisashi Michigami and representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of South Korea in Sofia. BCCI is the contact point for Bulgarian companies under the EU, Japan and South Korea Business Hub Programme. 

The aim of the Programme is to encourage the international activity of the companies from three priority sectors of the European economy – green and low-carbon technologies, digital solutions, as well as healthcare and medical equipment plus their subsectors.

Tsvetan Simeonov, President of BCCI, announced that for years now, the Chamber has been working on strengthening the ties with countries like Japan and South Korea for one very clear reason – Bulgaria, as a country in one and the same economic area as the other EU Member States, has to be competitive. In order that the economy of our country is competitive, it has to cooperate with high-tech countries and with countries, which share common values, such as Japan and South Korea.

Ambassador Michigami pointed out that Japan and the EU are strategic partners and have common principles. "As a Member State of the Community, Bulgaria is a constituent part of this cooperation," he said. He was convinced that the presentation of the EU-Japan-South Korea Business Hub was made at a very suitable moment.

The initiative was presented to more than 80 Bulgarian companies by Tatiana Bahous from Deloitte's office in Belgium and Nicoletta Favaretto from Eurochambers.

The Programme stipulates that 20 business missions in total are organised between 2024 and 2027 and are equally divided between Japan and South Korea. Each delegation will consist of 50 companies from the EU, which are selected after a procedure for the participants’ application and their selection. The business missions last for five days, three of which are set for the companies to participate in specialised exhibitions in Japan and South Korea.

It is important to know that the business missions to Japan will be composed entirely of companies from the "green technology" and "digital solutions" sectors, while the South Korean market will be open to companies whose activity comes under one of the three target segments of the Programme.

In order to be able to participate in the Programme, the applying enterprises have to meet the following criteria:

• They have been functioning for at least 5 years and they have to be able to present their financial results for three of these years (for start-ups, the time frames are reduced to 3 and 2 years, respectively);
• the majority owner of the capital has to be a person from the EU and the company head office has to be within the Community;
• the companies’ subject of activity has to come under the priority areas and sub-sectors;
• they have to be able to prove that they have experience in international cooperation, as well as a clear business stategy for penetrating the markets of Japan or South Korea; and
• they have sufficient working capital and labour resources to guarantee them the successful penetration of the target market.

The application process has several stages. The expression of interest is at the first level. What follows is the procedure for online application and selection. After that, online meetings are planned with the representatives of the 50 companies whose aim is to prepare for the forthcoming mission and to acquaint themselves with information specific to both markets. This is followed by the business mission itself, including participation in local exhibitions, bilateral business meetings, visits to companies on-site, etc.

The first mission to the Republic of South Korea will take place from 2 to 6 December 2024 and will be open to companies, working in the field of "digital solutions". The deadline for online applications is 9 August.

The second visit to Korea is scheduled for 17-21 March 2025 and is targeted at companies in the "healthcare and medical equipment" sector.

The first missions to Japan are planned for 9-13 December 2024, focusing on "digital solutions" and between 17-21 February 2025, they will be in the field of "green and low-carbon technologies". Application for the December delegation closes on 16 August.

The Programme funds up to €1,000 for the stay of one company in the respective country. The costs borne include 4 nights for one room per company. Also, the costs for consultations and other customer services are covered up to the maximum amount of €1,000.

Companies can register their interest in participating in the missions on the following website: www.eubusinesshub.eu.

If the companies have any questions and need any further information, they can contact the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, tel.: 02 8117 489, 02 8117 494q, e-mail: interdpt@bcci.bg.

You can find a presentation of the Programme here.