Top rating held every year since index launched in 2011

Wide-ranging support for partner firms' workforce and technology development

Smart factory program extended to more than 3,600 small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide

Samsung Electronics signed a co-growth ecosystem agreement with first-, second- and third-tier partner companies at its Suwon campus in June, aimed at spreading a culture of mutual growth between large and small businesses. [Samsung Electronics]
Samsung Electronics signed a co-growth ecosystem agreement with first-, second- and third-tier partner companies at its Suwon campus in June, aimed at spreading a culture of mutual growth between large and small businesses. [Samsung Electronics]

Samsung Electronics has become the first South Korean company to receive the top rating on the co-growth index for 15 consecutive years.

The Win-Win Growth Committee awarded Samsung Electronics its highest rating in the 2026 co-growth index assessment Wednesday, marking 15 straight years at the top tier since the index was introduced in 2011.

The co-growth index is an annual benchmark published by the Win-Win Growth Committee to promote shared development between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. It is divided into five tiers: excellent, good, average, poor and very poor.

Samsung Electronics has held a technology showcase since 2009 to introduce innovations from domestic universities and research institutions, helping partner companies identify future growth engines. In 2010, it established a 1.4 trillion won ($1.04 billion) co-growth fund to provide low-interest loans to partner firms for technology development and equipment investment.

Starting in 2013, the company contributed 20 billion won to a joint investment technology development program run with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. In 2022, it added a new 30 billion won fund to support partner firms in securing next-generation and ESG technologies over five years.

In 2024, Samsung Electronics teamed up with five major financial holding companies to create an 800 billion won ESG fund, offering interest-free loans to small and medium-sized partner firms for facility upgrades and technology development needed to transition to ESG management.

Samsung Electronics has also opened some of its technology patents to small and medium-sized enterprises it does not directly trade with, transferring more than 2,500 patents free of charge to date.

The company's Win-Win Cooperation Academy, which has trained partner company employees since 2013, has now been completed by 270,000 workers. The academy offers a wide range of programs on a par with Samsung Electronics' own internal curriculum, covering new-employee orientation and job-specific training in manufacturing, quality control, procurement and sales.

To help partner companies attract skilled workers, Samsung Electronics also operates a partner company job fair and an online recruitment portal, supporting the hiring of approximately 9,800 people.

Since 2015, Samsung Electronics has provided tailored smart factory support to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in difficult conditions. In 2018, it expanded the program in partnership with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs to include companies outside its direct supply chain.

More than 160 Samsung Electronics manufacturing specialists are stationed on-site at partner facilities, providing comprehensive support across six areas: system installation, manufacturing process innovation, workforce training, market access, sustainable management and post-implementation follow-up.

The program has helped more than 3,600 small and medium-sized enterprises across the country build smart factories to date. This year, the company extended its support through a "Smart Factory 4.0" initiative to include the adoption of AI-driven manufacturing solutions.

Under its corporate social responsibility vision of "Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People," Samsung also runs youth education and co-growth initiatives as part of its broader social contribution activities.

Representative youth education programs include the Samsung Youth Software and AI Academy, Samsung Hope Stepping Stone, Samsung Dream Class, Samsung Blue Elephant and vocational skills olympiad technical training.

For co-growth and mutual cooperation, Samsung runs a range of programs including Samsung C-Lab (Inside/Outside), the co-growth fund and ESG fund, partner company incentive payments, the Samsung Future Technology Fostering Project, the Samsung Guide Dog Program, Samsung Sharing Kiosks, the Samsung Multicultural Youth Sports Class and the Samsung Senior Digital Academy.


joze@heraldcorp.com