Luang Prabang Province in Laos is making strides to spice up its startup ecosystem via a collaboration with Sejong Metropolis and the Hannam College Consortium from South Korea.
A four-day workshop held at Souphanouvong College on 5-6 and 9-10 December introduced collectively key stakeholders to debate entrepreneurship and discover future alternatives for cooperation.
The discussions highlighted that whereas Luang Prabang has seen important development in new enterprise registrations, with 2,788 startups and Micro-SMEs established previously three years, challenges stay. Professor Yoon-Sik Shin from Hannam College identified key points, together with restricted entrepreneurial expertise, difficulties in accessing funding, and a scarcity of mentoring applications for aspiring enterprise house owners.
To sort out these obstacles, individuals proposed numerous measures reminiscent of enhancing sensible entrepreneurship schooling, launching startup internship applications, introducing one-on-one mentoring methods, and making a devoted startup assist heart.
The Luang Prabang Chamber of Commerce and Trade (LPCCI) harassed the significance of presidency backing and expertise improvement to maintain these efforts. Presently, solely 250 out of the roughly 10,000 companies within the area are formally registered with the LPCCI.
Sejong Metropolis introduced plans to ask representatives from Souphanouvong College and LPCCI to South Korea in February 2025. Throughout their go to, the individuals will achieve insights into Korea’s startup insurance policies and operational fashions. This collaboration goals to deal with creating key areas reminiscent of tourism, integrating Korean digital applied sciences into conventional industries, and exploring the potential of bio-industries utilizing native assets.
Souphanouvong College expressed its dedication to establishing a Tourism Middle and bettering workers digital expertise via worldwide partnerships. In the meantime, Sejong Techno Park shared its plans to host an invite program in February 2025.
This program will characteristic lectures on Korea’s startup historical past, visits to authorities establishments and companies, and workshops geared toward creating actionable plans to strengthen Luang Prabang’s startup ecosystem.
This initiative represents an vital step towards fostering a dynamic entrepreneurial setting in Luang Prabang, selling financial development whereas preserving the area’s cultural heritage and pure magnificence.