Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects 30 Companies for 'Social Economy Enterprise Growth Focused Support Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 17th that it has finalized the selection of 30 companies to participate in the ‘Social Economy Enterprise Growth Focus Support Project.’

This project is carried out through collaboration among 10 ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Individual ministries primarily support startups and early-stage companies (within 3 years), and thereafter, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups supports social economy enterprises with growth potential to take a step forward. The project started last year with a budget of 1.9 billion KRW, and this year the budget has increased by 68% to 3.2 billion KRW.

Each ministry evaluated social economy enterprises with a business history of 4 to 10 years or more and recommended suitable companies. The final selection was made by the selection committee considering ‘alignment with social value’ and ‘validity of financial support.’

The selected participating companies will be required to strengthen their basic innovation capabilities through preliminary diagnosis and consulting, including establishing business models and growth strategies. Additionally, the selected companies can freely choose areas such as research and development, market development, and infrastructure construction to address their issues and carry out projects. Companies can receive support of up to 300 million KRW.

Jang Sehun, Director of Regional Commercial Districts at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “Through focused support for the growth of social economy enterprises, we will contribute to creating social value such as expanding job safety nets through employment of vulnerable groups and returning corporate profits to society. We plan to continuously strengthen the inter-ministerial cooperation system to prepare various policies centered on the value of solidarity and cooperation and to enable promising social economy enterprises to grow faster and more diversely.”