Gwangju City Promotes Business Development Expense Support Project for Social Economy Enterprises

Budget of 1.4 Billion Won Allocated, Annual Support Limit Up to 300 Million Won

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 5th that it will invest 1.4 billion KRW in the 'Social Economy Enterprise Business Development Expense Support Project' to establish a stable revenue structure for social economy enterprises.

Eligibility for participation in the support project includes (preliminary) social enterprises, social cooperatives, village enterprises, and self-sufficiency enterprises (corporations) located in Gwangju as of the announcement date.

The support areas cover business development expenses such as brand and technology development, promotion and marketing, market demand surveys, prototype production, quality improvement costs, and patent application certification acquisition fees. Certified social enterprises can receive up to 100 million KRW, while other preliminary social enterprises, social cooperatives, village enterprises, and self-sufficiency enterprises (corporations) can receive support within 50 million KRW.

If three or more social economy enterprises form an operating body to jointly develop trademarks and brands, they can receive up to 300 million KRW annually. Participating companies must bear 10-30% of the total project cost depending on the support round.

Gwangju City plans to hold a business briefing session for companies wishing to participate in the public offering within this month to provide guidance on eligibility, required documents, and application methods using the Social Enterprise Integrated Information System.

The business briefing session will be conducted by the social cooperative Salim, a support organization in the Gwangju area, and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it will be held in small groups (15 people or fewer per session) with prior online registration.

Companies wishing to participate in the public offering can apply through the financial support section of the Social Enterprise Integrated Information System from today until the 19th.

Gwangju City will select companies through on-site inspections and face-to-face evaluations by the screening committee and announce the results on the city’s website next month.

Park Jeong-hwan, Director of the City’s Job and Economy Office, said, “We will support business development expenses for social economy enterprises established to realize social value, enhancing their value and helping them grow sustainably.”

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