South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 8th that it will begin recruiting small business cooperatives to participate in its "Small Business Cooperation Activation Program" starting from the 9th.
The program provides funding for joint business activities of cooperatives. It aims to help small businesses achieve economies of scale through collaboration and enhance the competitiveness of both cooperatives and their members.
Eligible applicants include cooperatives, federations, and autonomous commercial district associations with at least five members, where more than 50% of members are small business owners.
The ministry will support initiatives including joint production and sales, technology development and marketing, and brand development.
Approximately 40 cooperatives will be selected, with funding ranging from 50 million won to a maximum of 300 million won ($37,000 to $220,000) per organization, depending on evaluation results.
Priority will be given to cooperatives that demonstrate social value, contribute to local economic revitalization, and have strengthened solidarity and cooperation 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 cooperatives so that small business owners can organize themselves and build self-sustainability through cooperatives."
