Ministry of SMEs and Startups Invests 8.8 Billion KRW in Women Entrepreneurs... Mentoring and Market Expansion Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government is launching a project worth 8.8 billion KRW to promote women’s entrepreneurship and strengthen the competitiveness of women-owned businesses. The package program aims to resolve management difficulties through mentoring by successful women entrepreneurs and experts, and to support market expansion and overseas exports.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 28th that it will conduct the '2021 Women-Owned Business Development Project Announcement.' This year’s project, with a budget of 8.8 billion KRW, includes ▲expansion of startup support such as women-specialized programs (W-Startup Package) ▲establishment of a Women-Owned Business Ambassador Group to resolve difficulties and strengthen workforce support ▲and enhanced support for market access and export expansion of women-owned businesses.

First, to help women in science and technology succeed in technology startups, a women-specialized startup program (W-Startup Support Package) will be operated for a total of 200 participants.

In cooperation with the Korea Center for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, women scientists and technologists aspiring to start a business will receive one-on-one expert mentoring after completing practical startup education (operated by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development) to connect their ideas to startups, and outstanding companies will be selected and supported with commercialization costs.

Outstanding women-owned businesses will be discovered and nurtured through a women’s startup competition, and this year, a separate league for women prospective entrepreneurs and regional leagues will be newly established to discover excellent startups.

Along with the opening of the Gyeongbuk Women-Owned Business Comprehensive Support Center in the first half of this year, facilities at 18 women-owned business comprehensive support centers nationwide will be renovated, and childcare spaces such as nursing rooms and kids’ rooms will be provided.

This year, to resolve management difficulties faced by women-owned businesses, a 'Women-Owned Business Ambassador Group' composed of successful women entrepreneurs and experts has been newly established. It will provide in-depth mentoring to women startup companies to resolve difficulties and strengthen mutual networks.

Through the Women-Owned Business Job Hub, dedicated job managers will provide customized matching support to 1,000 women-owned businesses seeking to hire professional personnel.

Additionally, an online course for women CEOs will be operated by field?management, finance, market access, and self-employment?to strengthen the competitiveness of 6,000 women business representatives.

Package programs to support market access and exports of women-owned businesses, as well as exclusive programs to support women scientists and technologists’ startups, have also been prepared.

To expand digital market access for women-owned businesses, integrated support is provided from TV home shopping and live commerce education → expert mentoring → broadcasting.

Among 500 companies completing digital market development education, 50 promising companies will be selected to receive one-on-one expert mentoring → support for TV home shopping and live commerce broadcasts → and follow-up courses for continuous sales growth.

For women-owned businesses wishing to export, after completing necessary online export education (300 participants), 50 promising companies will be selected to receive mentoring, direct project expenses needed for export, and video consultation meetings with overseas buyers through the W-Export Program.

Details of the integrated announcement can be found on the Women-Owned Business Portal (www.wbiz.or.kr) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website business announcement page (www.mss.go.kr).

Detailed project announcements will be individually posted by the Korea Federation of Women Entrepreneurs and the Women-Owned Business Comprehensive Support Centers, which carry out the women-owned business development projects.

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