- 876 small businesses nationwide participated in the SME-Small Business Linkage Project
- Revitalized local economy with 90% funding success rate and 170,000 supporters participating in total
- Successful success stories of local small businesses such as health functional foods and traditional liquors... Support for global expansion in the second half of the year
Wadizannounced today that 876 local small businesses have raised a cumulative KRW 13.3 billion in funding over three years through its 'Our Neighborhood Crowdfunding' support project.
The Our Neighborhood Crowdfunding Support Program is a small business support program run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Business Market Promotion Agency that helps small businesses raise funds from local residents, co-workers, investors, and others. Small businesses can get the funds they need to run their business and connect directly with customers.
Wadizwas selected as the operating organization in November 2023, and ran the project for three years until this year.
We recruit small businesses nationwide that need financing to help them grow through crowdfunding, and over the past three years, a total of 876 small businesses have participated, raising a cumulative KRW 13.3 billion from 170,000 citizens. The success rate of funded projects is 90% on average.
By year, 2023 was 4.3 billion, 2024 was 4.4 billion in the first half and second half of the year, and 2025 was the most successful year ever, with more than 220 small businesses participating and raising 4.6 billion won in funding in just half a year. This year, more than 50,000 supporters participated in small business funding.
In particular, to prevent marginalization between regions, the company organized special exhibitions in each region and provided marketing support to help small businesses.
A typical success story is Seol Arae, a premium health food brand in Gyeongbuk Province. The brand, created by a Korean herbalist, launched its Mother's Day gift set, "Condensed Milk Chimchanghwan," in April and raised KRW 430 million in funding within a month.
In June, Hamahama, a traditional liquor brand based in Jeju Island, introduced 'Nutty Makgeolli' made from Jeju buckwheat roasted by itself, and raised about 13 million won in funding in a week.
"Crowdfunding is the fairest stage and new opportunity for small businesses," said Dong-cheol Choi, CEO of Wadiz, who oversaw the project. "It is significant that the government and the private sector have collaborated to lay the foundation for small businesses to grow sustainably beyond simple funding."
Meanwhile, Wadizplans to strengthen its position as a partner to help local small businesses enter the online marketplace for the first time, as well as expand overseas, through AI-powered global service enhancements and support projects starting later this year.
