Government Adds 30 Companies to 'Green New Deal Promising Companies 100' This Year

Ministry of Environment selects 15 companies, Ministry of SMEs and Startups selects 15 companies
Up to 3 billion KRW in R&D and commercialization funds provided for up to 3 years to selected companies

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung) announced on the 8th that they will hold a public announcement until the 11th of next month for the selection of the 2021 'Green New Deal Promising Companies 100' to strategically respond to climate change and environmental crises.

The Green New Deal Promising Companies 100 development project is a core Green New Deal initiative that selects and intensively supports promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with excellent technologies. The Ministry of Environment, responsible for green industry policies, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, responsible for SME policies, jointly promote this project.

The two ministries plan to select an additional 30 companies this year (15 by the Ministry of Environment and 15 by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups), following the selection of 41 promising companies last year.

Selected promising companies will receive up to 3 billion KRW in research and development (R&D) and commercialization funds for up to three years to promote innovative growth, and additional support will be provided by linking policy financial funds such as funds, loans, and guarantees necessary for company growth.

Last year, the 21 companies selected by the Ministry of Environment had an average business duration and sales of 17 years and 25.8 billion KRW, respectively. They were mainly selected among SMEs demonstrating outstanding capabilities based on excellent technologies in the environmental field.

The 20 companies selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups had an average business duration and sales of 8.8 years and 7.8 billion KRW, respectively. Half of the selected companies were startups established within 7 years, focusing on companies with excellent ideas even if their business duration or sales were insufficient.

The two ministries secured a total budget of 71.3 billion KRW this year to continuously support companies selected last year and to select and support new companies this year. This amount increased by 30.6 billion KRW compared to last year's budget of 40.7 billion KRW.

The two ministries plan to conduct a three-stage selection evaluation process, including 'preliminary document review - presentation evaluation - final evaluation,' to comprehensively assess the technological and business feasibility of the projects proposed by applicant companies.

Kim Dong-gu, Director of the Green Transition Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, said, "We plan to actively promote green industry development and support policies so that promising domestic SMEs can stand tall as leading companies driving the green transition of the economy and society, including carbon neutrality, and lead the global green market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.