Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) said on the 21st that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to promote investment and cooperation to support entry into western India's manufacturing base.
The agreement was pursued as demand for Korean small and midsize companies and startups to enter India grows amid a global supply chain reorganization. In particular, with "Make in India," the Indian government's manufacturing promotion policy, at the center, global corporations are transferring production bases and making new investments, leading to the assessment that India is emerging as a key manufacturing hub.
Maharashtra is cited as a core manufacturing region in India where strategic industries such as automobiles, electronics, defense, and renewable energy, as well as logistics infrastructure, are concentrated.
Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) is building a university-industry cooperation-based support hub, the "Global Basecamp," in collaboration with Pimpri Chinchwad University in the Pune area to support entry into the western India market, and through this agreement it has expanded its foundation for cooperation with local institutions.
Under the agreement, the two institutions agreed to cooperate throughout the entire pre-entry process in Maharashtra for Korean small and midsize companies and startups, including promoting investment, linking support with industrial complexes, and providing licensing and administrative support.
They also plan to promote cooperation in training talent based on local industrial demand, operating education programs on Korean corporations' culture, and working together in smart industrial complexes, energy efficiency, and digital transformation.
Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) plans to expand cooperative projects between corporations of the two countries by dispatching investment missions, holding corporations roundtables, and hosting investment briefings.
Park Jang-hyeok, head of global growth at Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME), said, "With the reorganization of global supply chains, India is emerging as an important strategic market," adding, "This agreement will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the foundation for Korean small and midsize companies and startups to enter India."