Our Local Products First! ... Gyeongnam Office of Education Revitalizes Small Businesses through S2B

Agreement with Korea Teachers' Credit Union and Gyeongnam Small Business Association

Promoting Market Expansion Using Electronic Procurement System for Educational Institutions

On the 17th, the Gyeongnam Office of Education joined hands with the Korea Teachers' Credit Union and the Gyeongnam Small Business Association to revitalize the local economy.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] On the 17th, the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education signed a win-win business agreement with the Korea Teachers' Credit Union and the Gyeongnam Small Business Association to revitalize the local small business economy.

The Office of Education aims to resolve the reduction in sales channels for small business owners and the contraction of the local economy caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement was promoted to enhance regional mutual development and economic revitalization by prioritizing the purchase of goods from local small business companies using the educational institution electronic procurement system (S2B).

The three organizations plan to guide schools and institutions to purchase goods from local companies using S2B and to educate and inform local small business companies on how to use S2B.

The Gyeongnam Office of Education will actively guide the purchase of local goods through various education and training programs, while the Korea Teachers' Credit Union and the Gyeongnam Small Business Association will promote the use of S2B at each branch and hold regional briefings for suppliers.

They plan to support registration for local small business companies, provide a product search system, and check usage performance by institution to help expand sales channels for Gyeongnam small business companies.

The educational institution electronic procurement system has 99% of institutions and schools in the province registered, and with simplified submission documents, it is mainly used for contracts under 70 million KRW for goods and under 20 million KRW for construction and services.

The Gyeongnam Office of Education reported that in 2021, the amount used for S2B by institutions and schools in the province reached 108.2 billion KRW, and as of the end of last year, about 10,000 Gyeongnam small business companies were registered with S2B, accounting for about 10% of small business owners engaged in wholesale and retail.

Superintendent Park Jonghun said, “This agreement will increase the number of S2B registered companies,” and added, “We will prioritize local company products and overcome regional difficulties together with various educational communities.”

Chairman Kim Sanggon of the Credit Union said, “S2B operated by the Korea Teachers' Credit Union will serve as a foothold to expand sales channels for small business owners and revitalize the local economy.”

Chairman Shin Youngcheol of the Association said, “The interest of the two organizations is a great support to local small business owners struggling due to COVID-19,” and added, “All members will strive to provide quality goods through S2B.”

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