The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups is running a support programme for small co-ops, offering joint funding to help them grow.
The Small Business Cooperation Activation Program, which started on 9 March, aims to help small businesses build economies of scale through collaboration, and make them more competitive.
Help is being offered with joint production and sales, technology development and marketing, and brand development.
Around 40 co-ops have been chosen for the scheme, with funding ranging from 50 million won to 300 million won ($37k/£28k to $220k/£166k) per organisation.
The programme is giving priority to co-ops that demonstrate social value, contribute to local economic revitalisation, and have strengthened solidarity and co-operation structures.
“Individual small business owners are struggling to overcome operational difficulties alone amid challenging economic conditions,“ said Kim Jung-ju, director general for Small Business Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
“We will do our best to discover and nurture small business co-operatives so that small business owners can organise themselves and build self-sustainability through co-operatives.”
