‘Social Economy Startup’ Sets Sail... Dongmyeong University and 2 Other Institutions Sign 'Startup Humanitas' Agreement

Busan Social Economy Support Center and Urban Regeneration Support Center Collaborate to Select 6 Teams

Perform Startup Planning, Development, Funding, and Support... Academy, Living Lab, and Mentoring to Be Conducted

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Three organizations have come together to promote 'social economy' startups aimed at solving community issues such as plastic zero and residential safety. These are Dongmyung University, Busan Social Economy Support Center, and Busan Urban Regeneration Support Center.

Led by the Dongmyung University Customized Industry-Academia Cooperation Leading University (LINC+) Development Project Group (Director Shin Dong-seok), the three parties signed a tripartite business agreement on April 12 at the Busan Station Eurasia Platform to promote the 'Startup Humanitas' project.

'Startup Humanitas' is a term expressing startups that solve human and life problems. The Latin word humanitas meant 'the liberal arts most fitting to human dignity' during the Renaissance period.

Through the agreement, the three organizations will jointly plan and nurture social economy enterprises, provide funding and financial support. They will also pursue joint projects and continuous networking to revitalize the social economy.

This project aims to discover startup tasks with high public interest in the region, such as ▲plastic zero for a sustainable earth, ▲citizens' housing and safety, community care, and ▲focused nurturing of local communities and solving social problems through startups.

Six final teams will be selected, including village communities, non-profit corporations, and social economy organizations within three years of startup preparing to launch in the Busan area.

By November, the project plans to conduct ▲Startup Humanitas Academy (8 weeks), ▲facilitator mentoring by division (4 sessions), ▲business model living labs, and ▲strategic funding education.

The first project of '2021 Startup Humanitas' is a community-based startup nurturing program. The participants include local village communities, village education communities, or non-profit corporations (including private organizations). Prospective social economy entrepreneurs are also included.

An eight-month startup nurturing program will be conducted through recruitment and selection processes.

The entire process is operated in stages: ▲discovering startup agendas and selecting items through facilitation activities, ▲participatory startup academy, ▲prototype production of enterprises through business model living labs, and ▲securing sustainability of enterprises through strategic and funding education.

Shin Dong-seok, director of the LINC+ project group, said, "To promote social startups in local communities, this project will discover startup tasks with high public interest and focus on nurturing local communities and solving social problems through cooperation with startup experts and public institutions."

Yang Eun-jin, director of Busan Plan, the operating corporation of Busan Social Economy Support Center which planned this project, said, "We focused on starting social economy enterprises from local residents to improve community care and livelihood and enhance village autonomy capabilities."

Director Yang added, "We will concentrate efforts, including the Social Economy Support Center, to make the social economy a network of solidarity economy in the local community."

At the signing ceremony, ▲Dongmyung University’s Shin Dong-seok, director of LINC+ project group, and Park Soo-young, head of the Community Cooperation Center, ▲Busan City’s Hwang Ji-young, head of Social Economy Support Center, and Byun Kang-hoon, director of Urban Regeneration Support Center, ▲and Yang Eun-jin, director of Busan Plan, the operating corporation of Busan Social Economy Support Center, were present.