Samsung Electronics today announced that the company ranked fourth out of 150 companies in the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark in 2021. Samsung’s consistent, multifaceted efforts to be digitally responsible have earned the achievement from global tenth place in 2020 to fourth in this year.

The WBA represents an alliance forged among more than 200 global, regional and local organizations to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WBA examines companies with a focus on seven key categories, including human rights, the environment and digital inclusion. The WBA launched its very first Digital Inclusion Benchmark last year, which evaluated companies’ progress in improving access to technology, enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use and innovating both openly and ethically.

Samsung was recognized for its efforts on digital responsibility as the company had established its artificial intelligence (AI) ethics principles. Having recognized the importance of emphasizing social and ethical responsibility in technology development, Samsung established a set of AI ethics principles to put into practice.

Samsung strives for accessibility in its products, enhancing them with technologies that make it easier for all users to utilize them. WBA recognized Samsung’s SeeColors app¹ that makes color adjustments to aid those with color vision deficiency (CVD) and helps them enjoy a better viewing experience with optimized colors on Samsung TVs.

The company’s C-lab Outside program in Korea that is designed to foster the startup ecosystem was singled out for its social contribution activities, while Samsung’s devotion to support digital education also garnered recognition. With its vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung has been and will continue to operate social contribution activities focusing on youth education and growth for their sustainable development. Samsung operates its global Corporate Citizenship Program, the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) to provide support in the form of job opportunities in future technology fields.

As a company that develops products and technologies that enhance users’ lives, Samsung is committed to promoting digital responsibility. Going forward, the company will continue to explore ways to make it easier for people to access and utilize a wide range of convenient and meaningful digital technologies.

¹ This app is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease or medical problem. Any information found, acquired or accessed through this app is made available for your convenience and should not be treated as medical advice.

With his company on its last legs in 2018, the news that the Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI) was holding its ‘G-STARt UP! Pitch Day’ caught Hwang’s attention. He signed up for the competition, and went on to win first place. As a result, Hwang was selected as one of the ‘G-Star Dreamers’ as part of Samsung’s C-Lab Outside.

Based on the lessons he learned from program mentors that included Samsung Electronics employees with relevant expertise, Hwang has been able to enhance the durability and safety of his products. Looking ahead, the start-up founder’s next goal is to expand his company’s supply chain globally. Check out the video below to see how the ‘G-Star Dreamers’ program has helped Hwang revitalize his business and continue striving towards his dream.

When she established eBlue Channel in 2016, Lee’s biggest concern was her lack of experience. Before starting her startup, she was the owner of a “gukbap” (rice soup) restaurant, and later, a convenience store. Even with a brilliant idea for streamlining the management of pharmacies’ drug inventories, not to mention boundless passion, for Lee, getting the business off the ground was an exercise in trial and error.

Facing increasing expenses and stagnant sales, the firm was nearly on the verge of emptying its office when G-Star Dreamers, a Samsung C-lab Outside program run by the Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI), caught Lee’s eye. Created specifically to discover and nurture startups, the program provides promising businesses with necessary funding from both Gyeongsangbuk-do’s provincial government and Samsung.

Through its participation in the program, eBlue Channel received six months of one-on-one training with Samsung experts, as well as a year of follow-up consultations covering everything from software development to on-site and organizational management. The program ultimately enabled eBlue Channel to increase its customer base by 15 times, and boost its projected sales figure to KRW 1.4 billion – 10 times higher than last year.

Check out the video below to see how Samsung and CCEI helped a passionate entrepreneur make her brilliant idea a reality.