SKC

● The existing support system will be upgraded with the expertise of a government agency and a global accounting firm

● The platform plans to increase win-win cooperation between large and small firms and secure competitiveness in the materials industry by widening its support for more companies.

SKC (CEO Lee Wan-jae) is gearing up to enhance the execution capabilities of startups, ventures, and small and medium enterprises (SME) along with a government agency and a global accounting firm.

The “Open Platform based on New Material Technology” that was established by SKC in the latter half of 2017 with the aim of creating social values through shared infrastructure has been newly joined by the Office of Strategic R&D Planning (OSP), the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), and accounting firm Deloitte Anjin. In addition, the platform will provide support to SMEs in addition to startups and ventures.

SKC signed a “Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to Strengthen the Open Platform based on New Material Technology” with heads of the participating organizations on February 20.

SKC’s Open Platform based on New Material Technology designed to support commercialization of ventures and startups and establish an ecosystem for the domestic materials industry was launched in 2017 in partnership with the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, Ulsan Technopark, Sunbo Angel Partners, the University of Ulsan, and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). With the addition of three more institutions this year, a total of nine partners will be able to provide robust support.

The three new partners plan to take the lead in establishing the ecosystem and securing the competitiveness of the domestic materials industry with their own expertise.

OSP (Head Baek Man-ki) will work to promote government projects or policies that startups or SMEs may not be familiar with as well as establish a platform for win-win cooperation between large and small companies. It will also review the need to improve related systems and provide necessary support.

KISTI (President Choi Hee-yoon) will use their know-how on supporting SMEs to assist their R&D and technology commercialization as well as help such firms upgrade their research and planning capabilities by letting them use its own information analysis system.

Deloitte Anjin (CEO Lee Jung-hee) will offer accounting and tax-related management consulting to SMEs and startups who are likely to be financially unstable in the early stages of business. The accounting firm will also review investment support in association with investment institutions by utilizing its global network and share promising trends in the global material industry.

The start of their joint efforts will be the second competition of SKC Startup Plus. This year’s competition has not only expanded the scope of participants to include SMEs but also opened the door to all areas of high-function and high-value industrial materials. In the first competition held last year, the program selected eight material technology startups and has provided support for their businesses by sharing expertise on R&D and management.

An SKC official said, “As a result of following the management principles of SK Group, which pursues stakeholders’ happiness and social values, the Open Platform based on New Material Technology has been developing into a sustainable cooperation model. We will make concerted efforts to develop the ecosystem of the materials industry faster and stronger together with small and medium-sized companies.” [END]