Governor of Gyeonggi Province and Mayor of Seoul headline event
“The New Zealand Tech Roadshow in Korea is back this year and stronger than ever,” said Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea. “Technology has helped us overcome the barriers created by COVID and this year’s roadshow is a testament to both the power and importance of technology for both countries.”
(From left) – Dr. Tony Garrett, Chairman of the Kiwi Chamber; Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea; and Lukas Beech, Kiwi Chamber Board Advisor and Roadshow emcee provide remarks at the New Zealand Tech Roadshow Korea 2020
The New Zealand Tech Roadshow 2020 is an online seminar hosted by the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Korea, known as “The Kiwi Chamber,” and the New Zealand Embassy in Seoul providing participants a week-long series of virtual events designed to connect innovative New Zealand tech firms with tech-savvy Korean counterparts. The opening day attracted over 55 participants from the respective business communities, tech and trade organisations, universities, alumni associations and government.
The Tech Roadshow includes 13 key New Zealand Tech firms from a range of sectors, including: Bluelab (hydroponics); Uneeq (digital humans); Kiwa Digital (digital publishing); Tectonus (earthquake resilient technology); Veovo (airport management systems); Chnnl (digital platform – employee mental health & wellbeing); Compac (fruit sorting machine manufacturer); The Clinician (digital health company – focus on patient engagement); Teknique (computer vision modules); Staples VR (experiential technology); Ohmio (autonomous mobility technology); Seequent (geoscience analysis); and Dawn Aerospace (hardware for space & satellite positioning). The event also included participation from around 30 Korean companies, including Daewoo Engineering, Doosan Group, SSG.com and SK Telecom.
Virtual New Zealand Tech Roadshow Korea 2020
To open this year’s event, Lukas Beech, Kiwi Chamber Board Advisor and Roadshow emcee, welcomed all participants highlighting the upcoming week’s events and line-up of accomplished speakers. Following the warm introduction, Dr. Tony Garrett, Chairman of The Kiwi Chamber, and Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea, spoke on the need to raise the engagement of New Zealand technology sector firms in a Korean market which is ripe with opportunity.
(From left) – Dr. Tony Garrett, Chairman of The Kiwi Chamber and Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea
“Technology is important to the future growth and success of both countries,” said Ambassador Turner. “It is the fastest growing sector of the New Zealand economy with growth of 10% to NZ$12.1 billion in 2019. Export revenue of NZ$8.7 billion also makes it New Zealand’s third largest export sector, with it on track to become our biggest export industry, worth NZ$16 billion, by 2030.”
“For this year’s event, we hope to build on the enormous success and lessons learnt from our previous New Zealand Tech Roadshow in 2019 and TechWeek 2020 held in June,” said Dr. Garrett. “The roadshow is part of the chamber’s ‘Inspire with Innovation’ initiative with a goal to link the outstanding technology networks both countries have to offer.”
Governor of Gyeonggi Province Lee Jae-myung and Acting Mayor of Seoul Seo Jung-hyup followed up with video addresses offering congratulations on hosting the virtual tech roadshow.
Governor of Gyeonggi Province Lee Jae-myung provides opening address
In his comments, Governor Lee highlighted the importance of the roadshow in expanding the strong partnership between Korea and New Zealand, and the immense opportunity and support programs available for setting up business in the Gyeonggi Province region. He also mentioned that while New Zealand reminds him of beautiful natural scenery, Maori Haka and Rugby World Cup champions, the All Blacks, that New Zealand is also renowned as an ever-growing high-tech powerhouse.
Acting Mayor of Seoul Seo Jung-hyup provides congratulatory remarks
Acting Mayor Seo stressed the tech sector and business-to-business prospects and support the capital city of Seoul has to offer New Zealand firms – referencing the roadshow as a festival for both Korea and New Zealand as the world’s tech leaders to introduce outstanding investment environments and build a network for promising tech companies.
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to New Zealand Lee Sang-jin also offered congratulatory remarks encouraging expanded cooperation between the countries in the field of technology.
To cap off the opening day, remarks were also delivered by Phil Goff, Mayor of Auckland; Andrew Turner, Deputy Mayor of Christchurch; and Mitchell Pham, Chairperson, NZ Tech. Stephen Blair, Trade Commissioner, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Korea, provided a Korean market overview highlighting recent trends, providing context on what it means for New Zealand firms to achieve success. Andy Foster, Mayor of Wellington, will deliver his remarks at the closing session later in the week.
Stephen Blair, Trade Commissioner, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) Korea, provides Korean market overview
The week-long Tech Roadshow also included highly successful online workshops divided into industry sectors (software/games, electronics and mechanical) and attended by 34 relevant New Zealand firms and Korean corporations and industry specialists.
Setting the stage, representatives from Gyeonggi Province and Seoul City provided a warm welcome to all participants, opening the door for further direct communication at both the business and government levels, while Aaron McDonald, CEO of Centrality, shared his experience and lessons learnt as a participant from last year’s tech roadshow in 2019.
Lukas Beech, Kiwi Chamber Board Advisor and Roadshow emcee
“The workshops proved to be very successful as participants Mohammed Hikmet, CEO of Ohmio and Nicolas Fogarty, Executive Vice President of Seequent, engaged in active conversation with Gyeonggi and Seoul City to gain insight into areas of interest.” said Mr. Beech, Kiwi Chamber Board Advisor. “Overall, the participants became aware of the support programs and opportunity for engagement and development in the Korean market.”
To finish out the week, the roadshow will offer a range of one-on-one B2B meetings between organisations from both countries, while the final session will include a one-hour online wrap-up event with Q&A session for all participating New Zealand tech firms with local market experts to provide information.
The New Zealand Tech Roadshow 2020 is a collaboration between The Kiwi Chamber and the New Zealand Embassy in Seoul as hosts with support from Gyeonggi Province, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and North Asia Cape.
Philip Turner, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea (center), poses with supporters and organizers of New Zealand Tech Roadshow Korea 2020
