Seoul's Seongdong-gu signed an MOU with KT&G on Tuesday to promote youth entrepreneurship and social innovation in Seongsu-dong, home to the country's largest concentration of social venture companies, District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said.
The agreement builds on a youth startup support MOU the two sides first signed in 2018, expanding practical cooperation to underpin the sustainable growth of the youth startup and social innovation ecosystem through a strengthened public-private partnership.
Under the MOU, the two organizations agreed to collaborate across several areas: participating in Seongdong-gu's social venture expo and innovation competition, exchanging startup education and networking programs, and jointly pursuing projects to open new markets and build capacity for social economy enterprises.
KT&G has been supporting young entrepreneurs through a range of initiatives centered on KT&G Sangsang Planet, which opened in Seongsu-dong in 2020, including providing startup space, facilitating investment connections and running networking programs.
Startups based at KT&G Sangsang Planet are set to take part in the inaugural Seongdong Social Venture Expo and Innovation Competition, which the district will host in October, contributing to the discovery and development of social innovation entrepreneurs.
Seongsu-dong in Seongdong-gu is the country's largest social venture cluster, with more than 500 social venture companies, and has led the way in building an ecosystem where social innovation entrepreneurs can grow. The district plans to use the MOU as a springboard to combine private-sector expertise with public support capacity, further advancing the locally rooted startup ecosystem and strengthening the foundation for social innovation companies to grow sustainably.
"This MOU will serve as a sustainable model of mutual cooperation that combines the strengths of the public sector and business to foster the growth of the social innovation ecosystem and drive local job creation," District Mayor Yoo said. "We will continue to work actively with outstanding private partners like KT&G to help the Seongsu-dong social venture valley grow into a world-class social innovation cluster."
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