Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul), the Global Development Cooperation Institute (GDCI), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Lao PDR Office held a mid-term report on the 'Mid- to Long-term Roadmap for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) and Startup Innovation Center (MSIC) in Lao PDR' on February 14 at the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Agency (MSMEPA) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Lao PDR.

The meeting was organized to review strategies to promote sustainable growth and digital transformation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups in Lao PDR. Officials from the SME Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Lao PDR, industry experts, and Kim Hye-young, Deputy Director of KOICA Lao PDR Office, along with Prof. Kim Byung-joon (Department of Public Administration), Head of the Global Business Unit at Kookmin University, Prof. Lee Woo-jin, Kim Jong-taek, Kim Jong-sung, Kim Sung-il, Prof. Choi Max-heon, School of Business Administration, Prof. Ahn Hyun-chul, Park Do-hyung, School of Business and IT, Prof. Kim Hyung-gyun, School of Software, Seo Jun-kyung, Director of the Industry-Academia Cooperation Center, Rah Min-soo, Researcher, and Pyo Han-hyung, Researcher at the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises, discussed cooperation plans reflecting opinions from the field.

The roadmap, which is planned to be implemented from 2026 to 2030, includes four key strategies for sustainable growth of SMEs and startups in Laos. These include: developing financial solutions to expand access to lending and investment opportunities for SMEs with poor credit ratings; providing locally tailored entrepreneurship and management consulting services to address business challenges; promoting digital transformation to address the lack of digital infrastructure and low awareness of digital transformation; and running capacity-building programs for SMEs and startups.

Kookmin University's Graduate School of Global Entrepreneurship and Venture and the Institute for SMEs and Startups, which organized the roadmap, will refine the strategic goals and action plans for the mid- to long-term roadmap this year by reflecting the opinions of local stakeholders raised at the briefing. Based on these strategies, Kookmin University and KOICA will support Lao SMEs and startups to enter the global market and build a sustainable growth model through digital innovation.

“Through this midterm report, we were able to review our achievements to date and develop more specific action plans and follow-up measures to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of the Innovation Center,” said Professor Lee Woo-jin, a professor at Kookmin University's Graduate School of Global Entrepreneurship and Venture. ”We will continue to work with the Lao government, private companies, and financial institutions to refine the core strategy and implement the roadmap in stages from 2026.”

Dr. Kim Byung-joon, General Manager (PM) of the project to establish the Department of Digital Innovation and SMEs in Lao PDR and build a foundation for training experts “In Laos, SMEs account for 99% of all enterprises and more than 80% of employment,” said Dr. Kim Byoung-joon, Director of the Institute for Global Development Cooperation at Kookmin University (Professor of Public Administration). Therefore, their digital transformation is a key issue for the overall development and restructuring of the Lao economy,” said Kim. ”We will do our best to share Korea's experience in supporting SMEs and startups to help the local entrepreneurship ecosystem become more sustainable and self-reliant.”

The establishment of this roadmap is also important in terms of securing the sustainability of ODA projects based on partnerships with the Lao government and the private sector. Going forward, Kookmin University and KOICA will refine the action plan to reflect the local policy environment and industry characteristics of Laos, and develop various cooperation models to support SMEs and startups.