Which Social Ventures Shined at the Social Economy Expo?

The 4th Korea Social Economy Expo Held

At the 4th Korea Social Economy Expo, awards are being presented to distinguished contributors in the social venture sector of the social economy.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced that 18 social venture companies participated in the "4th Korea Social Economy Expo," held at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center from the 8th to the 10th.

Started in 2018 and now in its fourth year, the Social Economy Expo is an event jointly hosted by related ministries to raise awareness and build consensus on social economy.

This year, 14 social ventures participated in the exhibition hall and were mainly placed in the Tech Zone, where companies realizing social value through innovative technology gathered. Key participating companies include 'Superbin,' which developed the recycling resource collection robot Nephron and received the Presidential Citation in the social venture category of social economy in 2021, and 'Todoworks,' which developed an affordable and lightweight electric assist device for manual wheelchairs compared to electric wheelchairs.

In conjunction with the Social Economy Expo, government awards were also presented to social economy contributors in the social venture sector. Root Impact, which operates the social venture residence space 'Heyground' in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, received the Presidential Citation, and Jjaegak Agio, which operates a caregiver matching platform to solve childcare issues, received the Prime Minister's Citation.

An Impact Investor Relations (IR) event was held for seven social ventures selected through preliminary screening. Golden Hour, which developed the evacuation rescue product 'Air Capsule' that enables rapid and safe rescue using the principle of airbags, won the grand prize (Minister of SMEs and Startups Award and a prize of 5 million KRW), and Inpi, which developed the non-face-to-face alcohol measurement monitoring service 'Alcheck,' won the excellence award (Minister of SMEs and Startups Award and a prize of 3 million KRW).

Park Sang-yong, head of the Venture Innovation Policy Division at the Ministry, said, "We will strive to revitalize social ventures by establishing a social value measurement system so that social ventures can be properly evaluated, and by supplying impact guarantees and impact funds."