RIYADH: Smart phones, energy, and the gaming sector are areas Saudi Arabia wants to develop with South Korean firms, according to the Asian country’s minister of small and medium enterprises.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the entrepreneurship conference Biban 2023 in Riyadh, Lee Young said her government is keen to help Korean firms penetrate the alluring Saudi Market.
Relations between the two countries are getting increasingly close, and last year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Korea with a delegation to sign a memorandum of understanding with regards to large-scale companies, SMEs and startups.
Following the MoU, “the Korean government started to prepare their next step,” said Young.
She added: “At the time, the Saudi government explained which fields they were all interested in. For example, smart phones, new energy, and game-like content.”
Young used the interview to speak about her dedication to tackling the challenges facing SMEs based on her experience as a venture CEO.
The minister spent more than 20 years in the sector before crossing into politics, and between 2010 and 2020, Young was the CEO of Teruten Inc., a cybersecurity company that develops security technologies.
She noted that her first job as minister was to solve the obstacles that she herself had faced during her earlier years in the field, including excessive regulation that confronts startups.
Turning to how to develop the sector now, Young underlined the importance of ties with Saudi Arabia for SMEs in Korea when she said: “Even though we have lots of startups, most of them are focused on the domestic market.”
The ministry intends to face the issue of start-up globalization through using the Saudi market as a stepping stone towards expanding globally, she added.
Biban 2023, the region’s largest startup, SMEs, and entrepreneurship conference, is set to attract more than 500 exhibitors and bring together more than 120 institutions that help young innovators and entrepreneurs be part of Saudi Vision 2030’s commitment to increase the contribution of SMEs to the national economy.
It is organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, the National Competitiveness Center and the Ministry of Commerce.
