NAVER publishes ‘Digital Ecosystem Report’ that sheds light on technology ecosystem over the past 6 years
NAVER publishes ‘Digital Ecosystem Report’ that sheds light on technology ecosystem over the past 6 years
NAVER publishes ‘Digital Ecosystem Report’ that sheds light on the growth of digital startups and technology ecosystem over the past 6 years
- Highlights the value of the digital ecosystems Naver has built for SMEs and creators since Project Flower was launched in 2016.
- Smart Store, a technology platform where anyone can start an online business, fosters up to 50,000-120,000 new startups every year
- NAVER Financial’s Cumulative Fast Payout surpassed KRW 14.4 trillion and KRW 84.3 billion in commissions and marketing support
- “Very proud of all the diverse growth reaped over the past 6 years... will contribute to SME branding and local business expansion empowered by our employees’ insight”
September 14th, 2022
NAVER Corp. (KRX: 035420) published the “Digital Ecosystem Report”, which highlights the growth history and value of digital startups and technology ecosystems that NAVER has built over the past six years.
Starting with the “D-Commerce Report” in 2018, NAVER has been working with academia to study the growth model of ecosystem players and published various reports every year, such as the “D-Place Report”, “Techfin Report”, and “Local Brand Review.”
The “Digital Ecosystem Report”, which is the 8th publication, comprehensively analyzes the digital ecosystem in various fields such as digital startups, techfin, and local businesses. This provides an opportunity to take a look at the entire digital startup and technology ecosystem by analyzing the data accumulated in Naver ecosystem for 6 years.
The number of Smart Stores increased to 510,000 in 6 years… Creating 50,000 to 120,000 new startups every year
According to the “Digital Ecosystem Report”, NAVER has laid the technological foundation of the digital startup ecosystem by building the Smart Store, a technology platform where anyone can easily start a business. As a result, NAVER Smart Store has steadily increased at an average annual growth rate of 37% from 2016 to 2021, resulting in 510,000 Smart Stores as of this year. As 50,000 to 120,000 new startups were created every year, this far exceeds the promised target of more than 10,000 new businesses every year when ‘Project Flower’ was launched in 2016.
Young SMEs are leading the ecosystem in NAVER Smart Store
The report says young, small-sized digital business entrepreneurs are leading the ecosystem in NAVER Smart Store. 55% of sales-generating sellers of Smart Store as of last year were early-stage sellers with less than one year, and the proportion of SMEs (small businesses with annual sales of less than KRW 3 billion) was 78.8%, and sellers in their 20s and 30s accounted for 43.8%.
In addition, the growth rate of Smart Store seller's GMV in 2021 compared to 2019 was 138%, significantly exceeding the overall Smart Stores growth rate of 125%. Furthermore, the average annual employment growth rate for Smart Store sellers over the past five years has been 12%.
Promoting the growth of SMEs with technology and education such as AI, ACSS and business consultation
NAVER's digital startup ecosystem is supported by global-level education programs and SME support programs based on advanced technologies such as AI, cloud, and ACSS.
As of August 2022, the accumulated amount of the “Fast Payout” service, which helps SMEs with financial accommodation, exceeded KRW 14.4 trillion, and the proportion of SMEs using the program accounted for 93.1%. 59,111 Smart Store sellers used the financial service, and it was confirmed that the service helps SMEs with financial accommodation and business vitalization.
Education for each stage of growth and commission fee support are also facilitating SME growth. The number of sellers who received D-commerce program support such as free education and consulting exceeded 720,000 last year, and the amount of *Start Zero Commission Fee and marketing support for SMEs exceeded KRW 84.3 billion in accumulation.
*Start Zero Commission Fee Program: A program that supports order management commission fees for up to 12 months and sales linkage commission fees for up to 6 months for sellers in the early stages of business
Offline and local business owners are focusing on expanding the digital market
Business connections between local and offline business owners and users are also diversifying through NAVER.
For example, there are 170 traditional markets in NAVER’s market shopping service and the number of orders last year increased by 230% compared to the previous year. In addition, 5,726 sellers in agricultural and fishery districts are connecting consumers across the country through NAVER. In particular, SMEs in Jeju Island are showing the steepest growth, with the transaction amount growing by 75% as of last year compared to the previous year.
24.3% of sales are invested in R&D, contributing to the growth of the technology ecosystem
Meanwhile, NAVER is investing 24.3% of its sales in R&D, which is relatively higher than other tech companies, and invested KRW 1.65 trillion in R&D last year. This helps the growth of ecosystem participants and contributes to the development of the domestic technology ecosystem.
Last year, an average of 1 million people per month took classes on “Entry”, an online software education platform for students. “Boostcamp”, an education program to foster excellent IT talents, produced a cumulative total of about 1,043 graduates, most of whom are now working as developers at major technology companies. NAVER's strategic investment organization D2SF has invested in a total of 97 teams until June this year, and the total enterprise value stands at KRW 2.7 trillion.
Through the “Agenda Research” team, NAVER is publishing various reports that shed new light on the social and economic value of NAVER services and technologies together with external experts and internal employees. Based on the reports, continuous efforts are being made to explore the direction of NAVER’s digital ecosystem development.
Choi Soo Yeon, CEO of NAVER said, “NAVER has laid the technological foundation of the digital ecosystem with the focus on ‘Project Flower’. NAVER is reaping diverse growth and is creating and capturing new opportunities and based on this, I am very proud and feel an even heavier responsibility. Continuing the philosophy of 'Project Flower', we will add ideas and in-depth insights suggested by our NAVER employees, and further on, we will strive to support SMEs' branding advancement and the digital growth of local businesses from various angles."
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