Hana Financial Group and the Small Enterprise and Market Service have launched a nationwide program to help young merchants attract customers and revive neighborhood shopping districts.
The Hana On, Youth On project will support 15 teams comprising about 100 young business owners, selected through an open recruitment process over the past three months.
Each team will develop projects suited to its district, ranging from community events and joint marketing campaigns to improvements to the local shopping environment. Hana Financial and SEMAS will provide funding, expert consulting and tailored financial support.
The organizations held a launch ceremony Tuesday at Hotel Sunshine in Daejeon, attended by Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, SEMAS President In Tae-yeon and participating merchants. Teams presented their plans and discussed business challenges.
The program follows an agreement signed in June to support young small-business owners and strengthen local commercial districts.
“The commitment we made in June to support the growth of young small-business owners and local commercial districts is now moving into full implementation,” Ham said.
He added that Hana Financial and SEMAS would help successful projects expand nationwide.
The organizations previously partnered to supply discounted eggs to neighborhood supermarkets ahead of Chuseok. Hana Financial also supports small businesses with energy-efficient equipment and digital tools to improve their competitiveness.
yejinlim@heraldcorp.com