When his father, who had run a delivery restaurant in Dongdaemun, Seoul, for 20 years, became unable to move around after surgery, Mr. A had to take responsibility for both his parents' shop and his own work. Watching over his parents' shop during the day and preparing to start his own business at night, he secured funding through the Woori Microcredit Foundation's Youth Future Bridge Loan and opened a late-night delivery specialty shop last September. He is now generating around 2 million won in monthly sales and faithfully repaying his loan.
The Woori Microcredit Foundation, operated by Woori Financial Group, is expanding its field-based support that directly identifies young people and small merchants in need of financial assistance. Rather than simply providing loans to customers who visit its branches, the foundation identifies recipients through traditional markets, neighborhood commercial districts, and community centers, and helps stabilize businesses after they start.
According to the financial sector on the 12th, the Woori Microcredit Foundation relocated its Seoul branch early this month from Euljiro in Jung-gu to Changsin-dong in Jongno-gu. The new branch is located at the entrance of Changsin Alley Market near Dongdaemun Station. The move to an area dense with small shops and elderly merchants is intended to broaden contact with those who need consumer finance.
At the office, two staff members handle phone and in-person consultations. The average number of consultations per day is around 20. When the Youth Future Bridge Loan, which provides living and startup funds for young people, was first launched, as many as about 100 people applied for consultations in a single day.
Since relocating, the foundation has been surveying markets and neighborhood commercial districts within a 2-kilometer radius and contacting merchant associations to identify small business owners in need of support. In many cases, new customers come through referrals from existing loan users. Jeong Yeon-gi, standing director of the Woori Microcredit Foundation, said, "We aim to operate in an active manner, cooperating with merchant associations and community centers to directly reach out to those who need support." He added, "There are cases where a merchant who received a loan first introduces neighboring merchants, saying, 'The interest rate is low and it actually helped.'"
Considering the local characteristic of having many elderly merchants, the foundation also conducts visiting consultations. To provide self-reliance funds for the financially vulnerable, it cooperates with welfare officials at administrative welfare centers and plans to inform vulnerable groups who may meet the support requirements about the program. For young people, it promotes the program through youth communities and job-training academies.
The foundation also provides follow-up support to strengthen the business foundation of faithful repayers. It recently launched the "New Hope Store" program, which provides equipment and supplies needed for business operations to faithful repayers. One of the first recipients is a fried chicken shop that has been operating in Changsin Market for 14 years. In recognition of having repaid the 20 million won borrowed from the foundation without delinquency, the foundation replaced its worn-out equipment.
The foundation plans to further expand its field contact points. It currently operates eight branches nationwide and plans to open four additional branches during the second half of this year. Jeong said, "To strengthen field-based infrastructure, we are placing branches mainly in areas with high demand for consumer finance." He added, "Beyond loan support, we will continue to expand the scale and methods of our assistance so that users can achieve stable self-reliance."
