'100 Unicorn Companies and 100 Billion Won Fund Established'... Gyeonggi-do Announces Vision for Social Economy

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is attending the social economy showcase held on the 11th and talking with the participants.

Gyeonggi Province aims to nurture 100 ‘Impact Unicorns’?social economy enterprises with annual sales exceeding 10 billion KRW or a corporate value over 50 billion KRW?by 2026. Additionally, the province plans to establish the ‘Gyeonggi Impact Fund’ with more than 100 billion KRW to support the growth of these companies.

On the 11th, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon held the ‘Gyeonggi Social Economy Showcase’ at the old Gyeonggi Provincial Government building in Paldal-gu, Suwon, where he announced the vision for realizing the social economy in Gyeonggi Province, including these initiatives.

At the event, Governor Kim emphasized, “The social economy is not an ideological or political issue but an economic one and a part of our daily lives. It complements what the public and market sectors cannot fulfill and represents future growth engines that create a world where we can live together sustainably.”

He added, “The core of the social economy can be summed up as ‘people-centered values.’ No resident of Gyeonggi Province should be excluded from hope or opportunity. Through the four major social economy visions announced today, we will do our best to activate Gyeonggi’s social economy and foster a vibrant innovation ecosystem.”

Governor Kim presented four future visions for the social economy to be pursued by 2026: ▲ nurturing 100 Impact Unicorn companies ▲ franchising successful social economy business models ▲ creating a ‘priority purchase market’ worth 10 trillion KRW in collaboration with public and private companies ▲ expanding social economy organizations to 12,000.

‘Impact Unicorn companies’ is a term coined by Gyeonggi Province for social economy enterprises with sales of 10 billion KRW or more or a corporate value of 50 billion KRW or more.

Gyeonggi Province plans to establish an Impact Fund worth 100 billion KRW by 2026 to promote private sector research and development (R&D) investment and market expansion through collaboration between large corporations and public institutions, aiming to nurture 100 Impact Unicorn social economy enterprises.

Furthermore, the province will support greater growth by franchising 10 successful social economy business models into 100 franchise stores. These Impact Franchises will serve as role models in local cities and counties and carry out concrete regional contributions, creating opportunities for local innovation.

To create a priority purchase market worth 10 trillion KRW, the province will increase the existing public procurement business-to-government (B2G) market between public purchasing companies and Gyeonggi local governments from 420 billion KRW to 600 billion KRW. Additionally, it will establish a business-to-business (B2B) market of about 400 billion KRW by cooperating with private companies to directly purchase and support sales channels for products made by people with disabilities and vulnerable groups.

Gyeonggi Province also plans to expand the number of social economy organizations from the current approximately 6,000 to 12,000.

Under the slogan “Making the World Better ? A Big Step to Change the Economic Paradigm,” the showcase featured social economy company representatives walking the runway like fashion models to introduce their products and services. Governor Kim Dong-yeon took the stage to present the future vision of the social economy pursued by Gyeonggi Province in a unique presentation format.

Following the main event, a vision forum was held, hosted by the Gyeonggi Social Economy Committee. The forum highlighted the need for a ‘Collective Impact’ strategy, where diverse stakeholders collaborate with a shared purpose to address complex social issues and achieve results.

The forum also introduced projects currently underway this year by the Gyeonggi Social Economy Center in collaboration with large corporations, public institutions, and social economy organizations, including the ‘Recycling Playground’ involving the Korea Ceramic Foundation and the ‘AI Efficiency Campus Project’ with SK Telecom. Subsequently, Hansang Yeop, CEO of Sopung Ventures, delivered a presentation on the importance of impact investment in the social economy, followed by a panel discussion on preparations needed for impact investment.

Since Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s inauguration last year, Gyeonggi Province has been focusing on revitalizing the social economy by establishing the Social Economy Bureau through organizational restructuring at the end of December and launching the Gyeonggi Social Economy Center as a dedicated public institution.

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