Hana Group's university program empowers young entrepreneurs

Hana Group’s “Hana Social Venture University” program, a key initiative in the company's commitment to fostering innovative job creation as part of its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) management, reached its finale on Monday.

Hana Financial Group CEO Ham Young-joo, pictured fourth from right in the second row from the top, along with the participating startup teams, pose for a photo at the concluding outcomes meeting for the ″Hana Social Venture University program" held on Monday. [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]

Hana Financial Group’s “Hana Social Venture University” program, a key initiative in the company's commitment to fostering innovative job creation as part of its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) management, reached its finale with a concluding outcomes meeting on Monday.

The financial holding firm has partnered with universities for a second year to provide business coaching and financial aid to social venture startup teams.

It is part of the firm’s wider ESG goal to build a business ecosystem that fosters young entrepreneurs as well as create sustainable jobs that will prevent regional population decline, according to the company’s news release on Wednesday.

A total of 650 teams, or 1,500 people, from 30 universities participated in the program. All teams received offline basic startup lessons, but two teams from each university, or a total of 60 teams, were selected to receive more specialized coaching to flesh out their business models alongside receiving financial aid.

On Monday, the event encompassed a gathering of the 20 finalist teams sharing their outcomes during a dedicated meeting, followed by an awards ceremony.

A total of 150 million won ($115,480) in financial aid was awarded to 12 social venture teams.

The grand prize was awarded to “Safe Light,” a mobile application developed to aid visually impaired pedestrians in crossing streets. The developing team, made up of students from The Catholic University of Korea, received 30 million won as their prize.

“I hope the ‘Hana Social Venture University’ program will act as a starting point for passionate and driven youth in [all] regions to find their desired jobs,” said Hana Financial Group CEO Ham Young-joo.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]