Fostering 238 Social Enterprises... Cumulative Sales of 86.2 Billion Won
Representatives of five social enterprises and accelerators who participated in the 'H-OnDream Demo Day' held online on the 23rd are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Hyundai Motor Group)
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The social enterprise development program ‘H-OnDream,’ operated by Hyundai Motor Group and the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, has nurtured 238 social enterprises and created 1,923 social jobs over the past nine years. The cumulative sales of the nurtured enterprises have also reached 86.2 billion KRW.
On the 23rd, Hyundai Motor Group shared the achievements of the H-OnDream project, including these results, at the ‘H-OnDream Demo Day’ event held online. Demo Day is an event designed to promote social enterprises selected through auditions and provide opportunities for investment attraction. This year, considering the COVID-19 situation, the event was held as a webinar with online attendance from Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor; Kim In-seon, President of the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency; and Kwon Oh-gyu, Chairman of the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation.
At the event, Hyundai Motor Group also conveyed new directions such as expanding the social enterprise development platform into Asia, building an efficient community for continuous exchange and synergy among social enterprises, and expanding new programs for nurturing entrepreneurial talent.
The event featured five social enterprises selected in the ‘Accelerating’ category, including ▲Valis (manufacturing pet food by upcycling discarded agricultural and marine products), ▲Opatech (developing the smart braille learning device ‘Tabtilo’ for the visually impaired), ▲Dr. Noah (manufacturing bamboo toothbrushes as a substitute for plastic toothbrushes), ▲Broccoli Company (manufacturing vegan cosmetics by upcycling discarded agricultural products), and ▲Nbliss Comms (developing the goal achievement application ‘Wishing Note’), who introduced the details of their ongoing projects.
A Hyundai Motor Group official stated, "The H-OnDream project has consistently supported social enterprises to help them establish themselves as a pillar of our society. We will continue to strive for relentless innovation so that we can grow into Asia’s representative startup platform without resting on our current achievements."
Meanwhile, the H-OnDream project, launched in 2012 by Hyundai Motor Group and the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, is a customized startup support program divided into two parts: ‘Incubating,’ which focuses on nurturing companies with promising growth potential, and ‘Accelerating,’ which supports the growth of companies already in the mature stage. Each selected company receives up to 100 million KRW in funding, along with startup education and mentoring.
Hyundai Motor Group has announced plans to invest a total of 34 billion KRW by 2022 through agreements with the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, implementing various projects such as stage-by-stage support for social enterprise growth to create youth jobs, strengthening elderly care businesses for women with career interruptions, and establishing dementia elderly support projects, aiming to create 3,000 new jobs.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
