The Gyeonggi Women’s Development Center expects Ggummaru will encourage business start-up activities through openness, sharing and cooperation

◇ On June 20, the Gyeonggi Women’s Development Center (GWDC) held an opening ceremony for Ggummaru, shared office space exclusively designed to enable women who are preparing business start-ups to cooperate, share information and communicate together. Pictured: Ggummaru ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

A new type of a business incubator opened in Gyeonggi Province in which women enaged in business start-ups can gather to cooperate, share information, and communicate.

The Gyeonggi Women’s Development Center (GWDC) announced on June 17 that it would hold the opening ceremony for Ggummaru on June 20 with approximately 80 participants including Park Soo-young, Vice Governor I for Administrative Affairs of Gyeonggi Provice; Seo Seung won, Head of the Small and Medium Business Administration Gyeonggi Office; and related professionals.

Located at the development center in Yongin City of Geonggi Province, Ggummaru features three conference rooms, a networking lounge and administrative support facilities in a total area of 317㎡ (approximately 96 pyeong).

An GWDC official said, “Conventional business incubators have partitioning walls, and thus many complain that the partitions cut off communication among tenants”. She also explained, “We decided to establish Ggummaru with the idea that open space will encourage tenants to benchmark and help one another while working together.”

Ggummaru is open to all businesswomen such as pre-entrepreneurs, cultural planners, free lancers and inventors. Once they register for membership, they are eligible to receive diverse information on training programs, funding and supporting policies. Advance reservations are required to access services including use of a conference room and professional counseling.

Utlized by approximately 25 members who applied during advance tenant recruitment, the facility can accommodate up to a maximum of 80 people. The GWDC expects that about 50 aspiring entrepreneurs per day (1,000 women per month) will use Ggummaru.

In addition to general users, Ggeummaru tenant companies also receive benefits.

The GWDC plans to provide support such as consultation, market cultivation and promotion for commercialization in addition to making space available when a tenant company obtains business registration as a One-person Creative Business. If a business requires additional space after start-up, the applicant becomes eligible to apply as a tenant for the GWDC business incubation center.

GWDC Director Cho Jeong-Ah said, “After 15 years of efforts by the GWDC to directly operate the business incubation center, Ggummaru was finally reaizied in response to the changing needs of start-ups that we have encountered. As Ggummaru is Korea’s first women entrepreneur-specific shared work space, we at the center will do our utmost to ensure the facility supports the happiness of women.”

Following the opening ceremony, a business start-up talk show took place. NSPACE CEO Jeong Su-hyeon (former operator of Space Noah) made a presentation about various operating cases under the theme of Shared Space and Women’s Start-up Businesses. This was followed by discussions on women’s work with participants.

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Cheon Kyung-nam ckn0403@kg21.net 

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201406171005127055C052&s_code=C052