Kakao has successfully wrapped up the 2024 operations of “Project Dangol,” which supports the digital transformation of small businesses, and held performance sharing meetings in each business area to commemorate the achievement, the company announced on the 17th. The events were attended by key figures, including local merchants, local government officials, representatives from the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and Kakao staff.
Launched in 2022, “Project Dangol” has targeted traditional markets (Dangol Market), local business districts (Dangol Street), and small business owners nationwide (Dangol Creation Support Center). To date, the initiative has provided digital education to a total of 212 markets, 15 business districts, and about 2,800 merchants. Through this project, 2,800 new KakaoTalk channels were created, and 730,000 customers registered as friends on these channels.
The “Dangol Market-Excellent Market Creation” initiative, aimed at discovering and spreading exemplary cases of digital transformation in traditional markets, was conducted for the first time this year. The five markets that participated each surpassed 10,000 KakaoTalk channel friends. Information about these five excellent markets was integrated into the Kakao Map indoor navigation system, and a “Dangol Market Special Exhibition” was held on KakaoTalk Shopping, enabling diversified sales channels both online and offline.
The “Dangol Street” initiative supported the digital transformation of 842 stores across 15 local business districts. Among these, 840 stores established KakaoTalk channels, and 796 stores were listed in store management on Kakao Map. Notably, 50% of the participating merchants began online promotion for the first time, achieving an average satisfaction score of 4.9 out of 5 in a satisfaction survey. Furthermore, 95% of participants reported that the program helped in their store operations.
In addition, through the “Dangol Creation Support Center,” Kakao has provided a total of 25.5 billion KRW in support for sending KakaoTalk channel messages to small business owners since 2022. This enabled approximately 66,000 small business owners to communicate with customers via KakaoTalk messages.
The center offers small businesses a complimentary messaging fee of 300,000 KRW and introduces supportive policies by notifying them of useful government support projects through the KakaoTalk channel in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Park Yoon-seok, a leader in co-prosperity performance at Kakao, stated, “It has been a year of laying the foundation for the digital transformation of small businesses and verifying growth potential. We plan to further expand the support areas to enable more small businesses to experience the benefits and seek ways to coexist with the local economy.”