Despite Budget Cuts Due to Government Paradigm Shift, Active Allocation of District's Own Budget to Induce Virtuous Cycle in Social Economy Ecosystem... Systematic Promotion of Social Economy Revitalization Projects Based on Comprehensive Plan Covering Three Major Areas
According to the central government's announcement of the '4th Basic Plan for Social Enterprises' last September, a paradigm shift in government support for social enterprises from direct to indirect support methods was anticipated.
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has newly established the '2024 Comprehensive Plan for Revitalizing the Social Economy' and is making every effort to create a social economy ecosystem within the region and strengthen the self-sustainability of social economy enterprises.
The social economy refers to private economic activities in which members directly participate to solve problems arising from the capitalist market economy, prioritizing the interests of the social community and creating social value.
To enhance the expertise and field relevance of policies, the district held a Social Economy Committee meeting in February this year to listen to the vivid voices of social economy participants in the region and incorporated them into this comprehensive plan.
This year, the district plans to actively promote social economy revitalization policies across three major areas: ▲creating a healthy social economy ecosystem ▲expanding and strengthening sales channels ▲supporting the activation of social economy enterprises.
In particular, this year the district will implement the 'Business Development Expense Support Project' for the first time to strengthen the self-sustainability of social economy enterprises in the region. This is the result of the district's proactive efforts to continuously support the social economy despite the cessation of government support.
The district plans to provide differential support of up to 20 million KRW for business expenses of social economy enterprises, such as ▲brand development and ▲prototype production, depending on the business content of the applying companies.
The recruitment target includes social economy enterprises located in Gwanak-gu, encompassing ▲social enterprises ▲preliminary social enterprises ▲social cooperatives ▲village enterprises, among others. Notably, this year, general cooperatives are also included, expanding the target compared to the previous year.
The application period is until 6 p.m. on the 25th, and detailed information such as application methods can be found in the announcement on the Gwanak-gu Office website.
Additionally, the district will focus more intensively this year on expanding sales channels and creating an ecosystem to strengthen the self-sustainability of social economy enterprises.
Last year, the 'Dream Market' achieved sales of about 300 million KRW and was recognized as an excellent case among Seoul's social economy markets. This year, the Dream Market plans to increase accessibility for residents by diversifying its operation methods, including not only the district office plaza and online but also ▲popup booths and ▲linkages with local festivals.
Furthermore, the district plans to hold a new 'Public Procurement Expo' this year, involving purchasing officers from the district office and public institutions, to create opportunities for social economy enterprises to develop public sector sales channels for their products and services.
The district will not overlook necessary support for creating a social economy ecosystem by operating the Gwanak-gu Social Economy Integrated Support Center, an intermediary support organization, and supporting the activation of the social economy network.
In addition, the district will continue existing projects such as ▲operating the Iruda Startup Workshop ▲space support projects for social economy enterprises ▲and the 'Social Enterprise Lunch Day.'
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “It pains me that interest in the social economy, which plays an important role in the development of local communities and improving the quality of life of residents, has declined due to Korea's economic recession and unpredictable external conditions. We will continue to spare no support and effort to create social value and revitalize the social economy, so I ask for the residents' active interest.”
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