Park Seong-su, Songpa District Mayor, to Focus on Nurturing Social Economy Enterprises

Three Companies Selected for 'Kiwoom Project' to Receive Up to 50 Million KRW Over 3 Years... Management Consulting and Market Development Support Included

On the 21st, Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, visited Taskworks, a social economy enterprise in Songpa District, to learn about the growth know-how of social economy enterprises and discuss future collaboration plans with the local community.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Recently, as the value of solidarity and cooperation has been increasingly emphasized due to COVID-19, Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) has embarked on a focused initiative to nurture ‘social economy enterprises’ that prioritize the realization of social value.

To this end, the district announced on the 27th that it has selected three companies to participate in the ‘Songpa Social Economy Success Model Kiwoom Project (Kiwoom Project).’

The ‘Kiwoom Project’ is a program newly launched this year by the district, aiming to establish a ‘Songpa-type social economy enterprise success model’ by selecting social economy enterprises with growth potential and providing comprehensive support.

The first participants selected are the youth enterprises ‘I&ISolution’ and ‘ChangePoint,’ as well as the preliminary social enterprise ‘Sotonggwa Gonggam Social Cooperative.’

I&ISolution is an IT company that developed a big data-based AI diet management platform, offering customized food information services for infants and diabetic patients through barcode scanning.

ChangePoint provides a service that exchanges foreign coins, which are difficult to exchange at banks, easily and affordably through unmanned currency exchange kiosks.

Both companies received high evaluations from the judges for business expansion and sustainable growth potential, as well as possessing competitive intellectual property rights.

Sotonggwa Gonggam Social Cooperative conducts marketing services for Garak Market merchants using various promotional channels such as YouTube. It was noted for its business items suited to the characteristics of Songpa-gu and its potential to revitalize the local economy.

The three selected companies will receive differentiated project development funds ranging from a minimum of 20 million to a maximum of 50 million KRW. Through professional consulting, business redesign, market development support, and social economy education will be provided. For youth enterprises, consulting will be supported in connection with the Songpa-gu Social Economy Support Center to facilitate their transition into social enterprises, social cooperatives, village enterprises, and more.

The district plans to evaluate the project’s performance annually and continue support for up to three years.

In addition, the district is strengthening the capabilities of emerging social economy enterprises by building networks with excellent local social economy companies such as Cheongmil, the top social economy enterprise in local sales, and promising IT companies like Testworks and Mami Freelancer.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “As the value of social solidarity and cooperation has been emphasized recently due to COVID-19, the role of ‘social economy enterprises’ is expected to grow even more.” He added, “Through this ‘Kiwoom Project,’ we will support the quantitative and qualitative growth of over 240 related companies in Songpa-gu to establish a stable social economy ecosystem unique to Songpa.”