South Korea’s banking sector provided 2,100 tailored consulting sessions to a total of 800 small merchants through a jointly promoted small business consulting programme.

The Korea Federation of Banks on May 18 held a performance-sharing event for the banking sector’s joint small merchant consulting programme at the federation’s building in Jung-gu, Seoul, and disclosed results for its start-up and closure consulting project.

The project was launched as part of the banking sector’s customised support measures for small merchants announced in December 2024.

The banking sector supported one-to-one consulting covering the overall start-up and closure process for prospective entrepreneurs, small merchants in the early stages of business and small merchants planning to close.

Average participant satisfaction came to 94.3 points. Satisfaction for start-up consulting was 95.2 points and satisfaction for closure consulting was 93.7 points. Of 800 participants, 682 responded to the survey, for an 85 percent response rate.

The Korea Federation of Banks plans to push ahead with an additional small merchant consulting project in the second half of the year based on best practices and on-site experience from the programme.

KFB Chairman Yong-byung Cho (조용병) said the banking sector should expand support that goes beyond funding supply and includes start-up preparation, business stabilisation and the closure and restart process. He said it would continue support for a recovery in the people’s economy and inclusive finance by spreading the case.