Delivery Apps Support Small Businesses Through 'Untact' Methods

Baemin Academy to Launch Online Education Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Delivery application (app) companies, which have been growing rapidly as a representative non-face-to-face (untact) business model during the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation, are also demonstrating 'untact competitiveness' in supporting tenant small business owners. Support projects that were previously limited because they were conducted mainly offline are being transferred to online platforms, significantly expanding the scope and range of application.

According to Woowa Brothers, the operator of 'Baemin' (Baedal Minjok), the small business owners' free education program 'Baemin Academy' plans to open an online education system on the 27th of next month. Baemin Academy, which started in 2014 to provide free education for small business owners to run their businesses, has produced about 20,000 small business owner students so far. Last year, the number of participants reached 9,344, more than double the 4,422 from the previous year, showing great response, and the satisfaction rate after taking the course was as high as 98%. However, since it was conducted offline, there was a limitation in attending the education for those located in rural areas or operating one-person businesses. To solve this, from next month, education through an online platform will also be provided.

To this end, Woowa Brothers has built a system for online education on the Baemin Academy site and unveiled the revamped site on the 1st of this month. They also established a video studio for producing online content at the education center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, which was expanded and relocated last August. Based on this, the online education starting next month will be delivered through the Baemin Academy site. Anyone who registers with Baemin Academy, regardless of whether they are self-employed or prospective entrepreneurs, can receive education.

The lecture curriculum comprehensively covers theoretical and practical education needed from preparing for a food service startup to growth and maturity stages, as well as education on how to wisely cope with the process of business closure. Sequentially, new lectures will open weekly focusing on programs that support self-reliance for food service self-employed and prospective entrepreneurs, including the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act, know-how on commercial area analysis, profit and loss management methods for creating smart stores, principles of service management, and cases of the latest cafe startups. The content mainly consists of practical information that can be immediately applied in the field. Offline, about 15 lectures were prepared monthly. A Woowa Brothers official said, "We will provide high-quality online education content to small business owners nationwide who had difficulty visiting the Baemin Academy education center due to distance or lack of time," adding, "In the long term, we plan to make all lectures available online that can be taken offline."

Delivery Hero Korea has also been conducting a free regular education program 'Yogiyo Class' for small business owners registered on the delivery app 'Yogiyo' via online live streaming since March. Earlier this year, under the motto of 'visiting win-win education,' they planned nationwide touring education not only in Seoul but also for small business owners in regions that might be somewhat neglected in offline events, but due to COVID-19, they switched to online broadcasting.

The Yogiyo Class online broadcast was conducted by participating in education through a provided link at the designated education time, and last month, a lecture on profit and loss management was offered. This monthly win-win education program is free and designed to provide practical information for tenant small business owners, covering various educational content from store operation know-how to labor, taxation, and menu composition. A Delivery Hero Korea official said, "We plan to organize and conduct free classes on various topics every month to solve practical concerns needed on-site."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.