Kakao Introduces SME 'Digital Transformation' Support Cases to OECD

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kakao's small business education program 'Kakao Class' and the subscription service 'GudokON' aimed at expanding sales channels for agricultural and specialty products were introduced by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) as examples of supporting the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to Kakao on the 5th, Kakao participated as the only official business partner from Asia in the OECD's 'Digital for SMEs Initiative (D4SME)' meeting held online on the 2nd and 3rd.

D4SME is a global consultative body launched to discuss the roles of governments and companies in the digitalization of SMEs, hosted by the OECD's Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities.

At this meeting, Kakao presented a case study on 'Supporting Digital Transformation of SMEs.' Daewon Kim, Director of Kakao's Policy Team, who spoke at the session titled 'Realizing the Potential of E-commerce for SMEs: Online Payment, Digital Accounting, Fintech Solutions,' introduced Kakao Class, Kakao Commerce's collaboration with local governments, and GudokON as platforms supporting the digital business of small merchants.

Director Kim explained, "Local small merchants have relatively poor access to human resources and business networks compared to those in large cities," adding, "Kakao Class, which provides platform utilization education to small merchants across various regions nationwide, helps overcome these limitations."

Regarding the recently launched subscription service 'GudokON,' Kakao suggested its potential as a platform for small merchants. Kim said, "For a subscription model to work, an integrated system for regular billing and payment, ordering, and customer management is required, but it is not easy for SMEs to establish such a system on their own," and added, "Through the GudokON service linked to KakaoTalk, anyone can easily engage in subscription economy business."

Earlier on the 2nd, Peter's Market, an online seafood distribution partner of Kakao, was invited to share a successful case of digital transformation through the Kakao platform and Kakao Class. Jongho Lee, CEO of Peter's Market, said, "In the process of digitally transforming our family-run offline seafood distribution business, it was important to enhance the digital capabilities of existing employees so they could continue working together," and added, "Through the Kakao Class education program, we were able to easily learn how to use the platform and confidently challenge the e-commerce platform."

Meanwhile, Kakao has been participating in the OECD's D4SME since the roundtable meeting held in Paris in November 2019. It officially joined the steering committee last year, and Kakao is the only business partner from Asia participating in the steering committee.