Gyeonggi Province Selects 44 'Star Companies' to Lead Economic Development in New Normal Era

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Noh-hun] Forty-four small and medium enterprises poised to grow as driving forces of economic development beyond COVID-19 have been selected for the '2021 Gyeonggi Province Star Company Nurturing Project.'

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Province Economic Science Promotion Agency announced on the 20th that they recruited participating companies from March 2 to April 5 amid a highly competitive 3.6-to-1 ratio, and subsequently finalized the support targets through document evaluation and non-face-to-face presentation assessment.

The project aims to select small and medium enterprises with strong technological innovation and export-leading capabilities that have high growth potential, and provide intensive, customized support tailored to each enterprise's growth stage across all areas of commercialization, including product innovation and market development.

Selected companies for this year will receive subsidies for product innovation (prototype development, standard certification, etc.), market development (exhibition participation, promotional material production, etc.), and smart innovation, up to a maximum of 76 million won per company annually, paid in full as advance payment.

In particular, through the 'Smart Innovation' field newly established to align with the 'Digital New Deal,' the province plans to focus on growing companies suited to the new normal era by supporting ▲smart factory construction ▲non-face-to-face work systems and cloud service establishment ▲untact promotional channels.

Notably, among the 44 selected companies, 16 companies (36%) are designated 'Gyeonggi Province Promising Small and Medium Enterprise,' confirming that the Gyeonggi Province-style support ecosystem for concentrated support of highly promising enterprises is operating successfully.

Additionally, eight designated parts and materials specialty enterprises (18%) based in the province are included as support targets, expected to contribute to technological independence and activation of the parts and materials industry that the Gyeonggi Province administration is pursuing.

Jung Do-young, Economic Planning Officer, stated, "The Star Company Nurturing Project is Gyeonggi Province's representative company support initiative," and said, "We will actively support companies in the province to grow as strong small and medium enterprises and further develop into companies representing the Republic of Korea."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Province Economic Science Promotion Agency held an online briefing session with the selected companies on the 14th, and will proceed with projects after signing agreements by June.

For other inquiries, you can receive guidance from the Gyeonggi Province Economic Science Promotion Agency Growth Business Promotion Team (031-259-6494, 6493) and Gyeonggi Province Office Specialized Enterprise Support Division (031-8030-3045).