Safe and Fast SME Funding Support through Non-Face-to-Face Evaluation

Jungjingong's 'Non-face-to-face Video Corporate Evaluation' Reduces Employee Evaluation Burden and Increases Corporate Satisfaction

On the 8th, at the Jinju branch of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) in Gyeongnam, Im Wonsuk, CEO of Agricultural Corporation Geoje Dongbaek Research Institute Co., Ltd., and KOSME staff conducted a non-face-to-face video evaluation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Small and Medium Business Corporation (Chairman Kim Hak-do, hereinafter referred to as SBC) announced on the 10th that it has officially started supporting policy funds for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a non-face-to-face manner to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and to provide safe and prompt support.

Companies wishing to consult on policy funds are conducting consultations non-face-to-face through online applications, and fund evaluations are also being operated in a non-face-to-face manner according to the stages of social distancing.

For example, on the 8th, the SBC Gyeongnam Western Branch in Jinju, Gyeongnam, conducted a policy fund evaluation via video conference with the agricultural corporation Geoje Dongbaek Research Institute (CEO Im Won-sook), a camellia oil manufacturer. The evaluation that day was conducted using a video system in the meeting rooms of SBC and the evaluated company. SBC conducted the evaluation based on company materials submitted online by the company. CEO Im Won-sook, who participated in the evaluation, explained the marketability and technological capabilities of her products via video.

CEO Im said, "At first, I was concerned whether an accurate evaluation could be conducted without meeting the person in charge face-to-face, but the SBC evaluation staff had a high understanding of the product based on sufficient prior business feasibility review, and the evaluation was conducted faithfully as if it were a face-to-face evaluation, so I am satisfied."

Jung Jin-woo, head of the SBC Corporate Support Headquarters, said, "The risk of COVID-19 spread and the workload of staff for on-site evaluations are reduced, and the travel time saved by conducting video evaluations can be additionally used for evaluations, so we expect higher company satisfaction," adding, "In the future, we will gradually expand non-face-to-face evaluations in line with the new normal of the post-COVID era."

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