SK grants W200m to nurture social ventures

SK Supex, SK Group’s top decision-making council, said Tuesday that the group selected two environment-related social enterprises, Netspa and En2core Technology, as the beneficiaries of its venture fostering program, Impact Union, and had granted 100 million won to each of the companies.

Running the project aimed at fostering social enterprises since 2020, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate assessed 25 social enterprises recommended by investors and partner business accelerators, looking at their potential and willingness to make investment for growth. SK also looked at possible collaboration opportunities between its affiliates and the social enterprises, the company said.

Netspa is a social venture which collects ocean waste and discarded fishing nets to extract raw materials such as nylon and polypropylene. The company crushes and grinds the ocean waste to and recycles them into reusable materials.

According to SK, the company established a mass production facility in Busan in September last year, and it is expected to process some 240 tons of discarded fishing nets a month.

En2core Technology is a company that utilizes the plasma gasification technology it developed here to convert land fill gas and biogas from landfills and sewage treatment plants into clean-burning hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

The company is currently in talks with local governments in Korea for business projects, where they would turn landfill gas into usable and clean energy sources, SK explained.

SK first launched its Impact Unicorn project in 2020 to support social enterprises, providing them with financial aides to gain competitiveness and overcome potential limitations to their growth, the company said.

SK Group came to introduce the program as its chairman Chey Tae-won has constantly stressed the role of social enterprises in society. According to the group, Chey has underscored the need to foster social enterprises, and how there should be a “star” social enterprise to attract capable talents, ultimately creating a virtuous cycle in the social enterprise ecosystem.

Six companies are currently receiving support from SK under the Impact Unicorn program. They have also connected with SK affiliates to carry out 12 joint businesses, SK said.

"Social enterprises provide innovative solutions to social problems which are becoming more serious," Cho Kyung-mok, the head of the social value committee at SK Supex Council, said.

"We will continue to support social enterprises that have high potential for growth with our Impact Unicorn program."