Great Satisfaction with Nowon-gu Small Business Manager Activities

Visited 8,603 Small Businesses, 42% of Over 20,000, with Positive Feedback Through Customized Consultations and Experiential Support
Continuous Support System Strengthened via 'Nowon-gu Small Business Information' KakaoTalk Channel

Nowon-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that the ‘Visiting Small Business Manager’ project it is implementing is receiving great responses through customized support for actual users.

The ‘Visiting Small Business Manager’ involves five small business managers per zone who directly visit business sites to listen to difficulties and connect support projects tailored to the characteristics and needs of each business. It was planned to resolve issues where small business owners are excluded from support due to lack of information on public support policies, burdensome administrative procedures, and busy living environments.

Since February this year, over approximately eight months, the project has actively communicated by visiting 8,603 businesses, accounting for 42.7% of about 20,000 small businesses. The focus was on listening to and helping solve the practical difficulties of small business owners by guiding customized support policies and assisting with detailed procedures.

A small business owner A who consulted with a manager said, “I knew there were government support policies, but understanding the policies and the application process was difficult. The manager visited, explained the policies easily, and helped with the application process, so I was able to receive benefits for the first time,” expressing gratitude.

Another business owner B praised, “Thanks to the manager, I was able to switch from a high-interest loan to a medium-interest loan, greatly reducing my burden.”

On the other hand, an unfortunate point was that 58% of cases had difficulties in close consultation due to the business owner’s absence or being in operation during the project. Accordingly, the district plans to strengthen revisit support from next year to ensure that small business owners can continuously receive help even after the first visit.

In addition, the district continuously provides information even during the inactive periods of the ‘Visiting Small Business Manager’ to help small business owners receive necessary information in a timely manner. The ‘Nowon-gu Small Business Information’ KakaoTalk channel operates to provide various support policies and useful information to over 3,700 small business owners who have added it as a friend.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “I believe we were able to provide practically needed help because we listened to voices from the field,” and added, “Next year, we will actively visit the field again to continue customized support that small business owners need.”