Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) said on the 21st that it signed a business agreement to support a "co-growth network loan for small and medium-sized enterprises" with POSCO, POSCO FUTURE M, nTWO B, and POSCO HY Clean Metal at POSCO's Pohang headquarters.
The agreement was prepared to strengthen a win-win cooperation system with order-winning small and midsize enterprises and enhance supply chain stability, as key affiliates of POSCO Group jointly participate amid growing uncertainty in global supply chains surrounding the steel and secondary battery industries.
Under the agreement, KOSME and POSCO Group affiliates will promote: ▲ support for co-growth network loans for partner small and midsize enterprises ▲ recommendation of outstanding small and midsize enterprises and linkage with policy programs ▲ expanded information exchange on industrial sites ▲ establishment of a cooperation system to strengthen supply chain competitiveness.
The co-growth network loan is a program to build a large-small enterprise cooperation ecosystem. When an ordering company that has signed an agreement with KOSME recommends an order-winning small and midsize enterprise, KOSME provides priority low-interest production funds based on the purchase order. For partner small and midsize enterprises, the advantage is reduced financing burdens and the ability to continue production and delivery stably.
Now in its third year of implementation, the co-growth network loan has about 90 ordering companies participating. This is the first case in which major affiliates within a large corporate group have participated simultaneously, with POSCO taking the lead this time. KOSME plans to expand group-level participation by large corporations to broaden support for order-winning small and midsize enterprises and actively respond to the reorganization of global supply chains.
Ban Jeong-sik, regional innovation director at KOSME, said, "This agreement with POSCO Group, which leads Korea's steel and secondary battery industries, will be a meaningful example of win-win cooperation between large and small enterprises," adding, "By expanding support for the co-growth network loan, we will contribute to stable financing for partner small and midsize enterprises and to supply chain stability across the industry."