Shinhan Bank is offering a range of consulting services, including marketing and business operations know-how, to help small merchants increase sales.

Shinhan Bank on Jan. 15 held an opening ceremony for the 38th intermediate course of the Shinhan SOHO Academy at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Shinhan SOHO Academy is the bank's flagship inclusive finance programme that supports business success for self-employed people and prospective entrepreneurs across various sectors including food and services. Since it launched in 2017, it has produced 1,117 graduates.

The intermediate course will run for six weeks for about 30 self-employed people and prospective entrepreneurs. The programme includes practical training that can provide real help in the field, including branding and publicity strategies, hands-on marketing to boost sales and financial support schemes for small merchants.

Shinhan Bank will expand its support framework from this year by using the public delivery platform Ttaenggyeoyo. It plans to provide tailored consulting that reflects small merchants' actual operating environments and management concerns, based on on-the-ground experience and data accumulated through operating delivery and ordering platforms.

A Shinhan Bank official said, "We built a support model that can get closer to small merchants by linking the platform with education." The official added, "We will continue to grow together with small merchants through practical education programmes that reflect voices from the field."