For the Export Success of Hungarian Enterprises

As a government institution, HEPA Hungarian Export Promotion Agency aims at providing high quality services in order to support the further export success of Hungarian enterprises and improve the country’s international image. The Agency works in close co-operation with other state-owned institutions of economic background. Its mission is to see more and more quality Hungarian products available in the international markets and Hungarian brands becoming internationally known by offering its economic diplomatic and business network as well as promotional services to achieve this goal.

As HEPA's Chief Executive Officer, Gábor Jenei recalls to Diplomacy&Trade, the success of Hungarian exports was based on the transformation of the foreign trade institutional system in 2014. The transformation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade marked the strengthening of state economic diplomacy. In 2018, HEPA Hungarian Export Promotion Agency was established as a background institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote exports.

NEXT as a compass
He believes that one of the most outstanding achievements of Hungarian trade development is the National Export Strategy (NEXT), adopted in 2019, which sets out the directions for the development of the government's export promotion instruments until 2030 and has since served as a compass for HEPA's daily activities. “In line with the objectives set out in NEXT, we are helping more than 6,000 Hungarian businesses to exploit their foreign market opportunities. Every business has the opportunity to succeed in international markets, and we provide our partners with professional support to overcome the challenges they face on their way to doing so. HEPA's main clients are small and medium sized Hungarian companies wishing to enter – or expand in – export markets, but the agency also has more than 300 larger companies as partners. In each case, our services are tailored to the specific needs and export maturity level of the company, which is determined by a detailed assessment at the beginning of the cooperation.”

Three pillars
HEPA's activities are based on three pillars. First, it provides targeted, tailored information on the business and trade environment in the countries concerned. It then connects potential business partners, mainly through networking events, events and exhibitions. Thirdly, it contributes to the implementation of export promotion projects by providing public support to businesses.
The organization currently has partner offices in four countries around the world. The one in Toronto covers the Canadian market, the Shanghai office has a local presence in eight regions of China, while the Istanbul office covers Greece and Cyprus in addition to Turkey. The Belgrade office covers all Western Balkan countries. The main tasks of the local experts in the partner offices are to identify business opportunities in their respective regions, to find potential partners and to help Hungarian companies navigate the local administration involved in market entry.

Export Academy
HEPA runs the Export Academy Training Center, which was founded more than a decade ago, in 2012, and has been operating as an adult education institution since the end of 2020. “Our aim is to make a wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises in Hungary exportable, helping them to develop a strategic approach to foreign markets and to develop their business culture in the right direction. Complex courses and a digital knowledge platform provide them with up-to-date information,” the CEO points out.
The Center’s training principles for success in foreign markets are based on three key prerequisites.

1. Solid foreign trade basics: basic foreign trade knowledge is essential for businesses to be successful in foreign trade and is offered by the Export Academy in the form of a free e-learning course.
2. Target market knowledge: training in target markets introduces the geopolitical, economic and intercultural specificities of the region. These courses often also offer networking opportunities, where participants can meet Hungarian entrepreneurs who have successfully exported and who can give first-hand, practical advice based on their own experience.
3. Personal skills development: the third key pillar is to develop the confidence and openness needed in international negotiations. Effective communication, business confidence and successful deal-making are key to success in foreign markets. HEPA's business skills and capability development programs support this, helping Hungarian businesses to thrive on the international stage.

Target market training
As to which countries/regions these target market preparation courses focus on and what specific knowledge they impart, Gábor Jenei stresses that “an important step in the life of the Export Academy was the launch of our target market training series in October 2022, which aims to introduce a major geographical entity along a defined structure, focusing on the business opportunities there. The aim of the training courses is to provide a comprehensive overview of each export market and to help Hungarian companies to do business and enter the market.”
During the target market preparation training, the regions are analyzed according to the following criteria:
► the economic, political and cultural background of the market concerned,
► the economic diplomatic relations of the region with Hungary,
► the advantages and risks of market entry,
► the prospective export-oriented sectors,
► intercultural and protocol skills, and
► case studies of concrete exporters who have been successful.
In line with NEXT's objectives, these trainings support company representatives to prepare for participation in business forums and negotiate successfully with potential partners in the country. The program has so far introduced participants to the specificities of markets in the Western Balkans, Turkey, the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and China, among others. In 2025, the focus will be on North Africa, with a special focus on Egypt, as well as on the United States, where participants will be able to gain valuable insights into the specificities of the markets of these countries.

Local knowledge as basis
Information to be provided to applicants is collected from various sources globally – including by staff in Hungarian embassies around the world. As the CEO highlights, “the training will give participants direct exposure to the practical challenges faced in the markets, while presentations and round-table discussions will also showcase the experiences of market professionals. On the other hand, the success of the training is also ensured by the speaker base, which is made up of experts recruited through HEPA. Their knowledge and experience in the countries and sectors concerned enrich our training with a broad theoretical background and practical solutions. Local knowledge is the basis for successful export activity and is essential for navigating foreign markets. Our foreign trade attachés in host countries help Hungarian companies globally with business information, partnerships and tailor-made solutions. In our target market training, business opportunities in the region are also presented from the attachés' perspective.”

European cooperation
European Union trade policy initiatives not only strengthen cooperation between member states, but also provide concrete support for exporting companies. Building on last year's Draghi report, the European Commission has launched its 'Competitiveness Compass' initiative, which aims to boost trade between EU member states, increase competition, create jobs and make the EU a more attractive place to invest. One element of this is to drastically reduce regulatory and administrative burdens. To change the rules that hinder trade and innovation, HEPA, in partnership with Trade Promotion Europe, the Brussels-based umbrella organization of European trade promotion agencies, has presented the European Commission with the Single Market Strategy Public Consultation, which addresses the concerns and suggestions of domestic businesses on EU regulation. It is hoped that appropriate changes to regulation will ensure competitiveness in international markets.
Last year, HEPA, together with SPIRIT Slovenia, applied for the European Commission's Technical Support Instrument (TSI) program to improve economic competitiveness, where 134 out of 900 applications were supported, including HEPA's project proposal.
The CEO underlines that with the EUR 550,000 consultancy services provided by the European Union, HEPA will strengthen its services in the following areas:

• supporting SMEs in integrating environmental sustainability into export development processes;
• developing an IT tool using artificial intelligence to help SMEs active in external markets to operate sustainably and access green finance opportunities; and
• strengthening the international presence of SMEs through guides and training on the strategic and operational application of sustainability.
  In addition, HEPA, through its predecessors, has been participating for 17 years as the leader of the domestic consortium in the EU-funded Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) program, which provides a wide range of services to domestic SMEs, helping them to enter international markets. It is the EU's only business development network and the world's largest, currently helping SMEs in 56 countries to access information, advice, training, international business opportunities and partners through international business meetings, workshops and databases.
  “HEPA's priority is to help domestic SMEs to develop successful, long-term partnerships both within and outside the EU. The organization also helps businesses to access funding and places particular emphasis on participation in research programs funded by the European Union. It is worth noting that last year saw the launch of an energy efficiency call for proposals specifically for EEN's clients, for which nearly a hundred companies have so far applied with the help of HEPA,” Gábor Jenei says.

Cooperation with MBH Bank
In May last year, the Hungarian financial institution MBH Bank and HEPA signed a cooperation agreement to provide even more effective support to companies entering the export market. The HEPA CEO states that the main objective of the agreement is to support the development of the competitiveness of Hungarian companies. “Regarding the practical implications of this agreement, the cooperation between the two organizations allows for information sharing, including the assessment of the financing needs of domestic enterprises in the field of international business development, and the institutions will be represented at relevant events, give presentations and participate in round table discussions to share knowledge on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects for domestic enterprises. Building on the local contacts of the Enterprise Europe Network, regional roadshows have been organized. The joint workshops also provided participants with an opportunity to learn about HEPA's services in support of external market activities.”