Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Develop Promising Small Business Owners into 'Good Franchises'

Selection of around 9 companies... Up to 50 million KRW support
Small business owners and small franchise headquarters eligible to apply

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has launched an initiative to nurture good franchises.

On the 24th, the Ministry announced that it is recruiting applicants for the "2021 Win-Win Cooperation Franchise Support Project." The application period is until the 17th of next month.

The Win-Win Cooperation Franchise Support Project supports outstanding small business owners and small franchise headquarters that propose win-win plans with their franchisees. It helps promising small business owners and small franchise headquarters with high growth potential by supporting initial commercialization such as branding and design, as well as marketing and smartization, to facilitate franchising.

The Ministry classifies small business owners and small franchise headquarters into three stages: startup, growth, and flagship brand, and establishes support strategies considering the nature of the industry and growth level, then provides customized support.

This year, about nine companies will be selected. Five companies at the startup stage will receive up to 30 million KRW, and four companies at the growth and flagship brand stages will receive up to 50 million KRW. They can also receive various commercialization supports necessary for franchising, such as production facilities and service platform establishment.

Small business owners and small franchise headquarters can apply for the project. However, the startup stage must be in non-food service industries with a business period of more than one year and less than three years. The growth stage targets franchise headquarters with a business period of more than four years and less than ten years and fewer than 50 franchise stores. Franchise headquarters applying for the project must submit contents related to win-win development with franchisees.

The Ministry selects supported companies through document evaluation and face-to-face evaluation considering innovation, growth potential, and win-win cooperation activities. Additional points are given to excellent companies in win-win cooperation recognized by the Fair Trade Commission.

Baek Seokhee, head of the Small Business Management Support Division at the Ministry, said, "The success stories of small business owners with innovative business models growing into franchise companies become a source of hope for other small business owners." He added, "We will also establish a new project to support creative franchise owners to bring innovation throughout the franchise business."

For more details, please visit the Small Enterprise and Market Service website.