Record-Breaking Success: Women’s Startup Competition Reaches 39-to-1 Participation Ratio

A Surge of 1,712 Teams
Participation Rate Up 66% Year-on-Year

The Women’s Startup Competition, with a 27-year history, recorded its highest-ever competition rate of 39 to 1.

The Women Entrepreneurs Comprehensive Support Center (hereinafter referred to as WECSC) announced on April 28 that a total of 1,712 teams applied for the “27th Women’s Startup Competition 2026,” from which 44 teams will be selected. Participation increased by 66% compared to the previous year.

Participants at the awards ceremony and networking event of the 26th Women Startup Competition held last year are taking a commemorative photo. Women's Enterprise Comprehensive Support Center

The Women’s Startup Competition is the only domestic competition exclusively for women entrepreneurs. The event has produced notable success stories such as BioBricks, which won the Grand Prize (Presidential Award) at the “Challenge! K-Startup 2024” Startup League, as well as Innersia, a leader in femtech.

This year’s competition stands out for the increased interest of women entrepreneurs in technology-intensive industries.

In the technology and innovation sector, Big Data and AI (454 teams) saw the highest participation among individual categories. There was also strong interest in high-tech startups such as bio and healthcare (141 teams) and femtech (108 teams).

In the lifestyle and consumer goods sector, there was an outpouring of ideas in categories such as K-Food (231 teams), women and family care (226 teams), and K-Beauty (130 teams).

Chang-suk Park, Chairwoman of WECSC, said, “As the Ministry of SMEs and Startups promotes the ‘Startup for All’ initiative, the record-breaking participation in this year’s Women’s Startup Competition is injecting new vitality into the startup ecosystem.”

Chairwoman Park added, “In particular, women-focused sectors—uniquely positioned to solve everyday inconveniences with keen sensitivity and empathy—are an unparalleled domain. I am confident that women-led companies combining technology and emotional intelligence will become a new growth engine for our economy.”

The Women’s Startup Competition is open to women-led startups less than seven years old and aspiring women entrepreneurs. In celebration of “Women Entrepreneurs Week” in the first week of July, a total of 44 teams will be selected. The chosen teams will receive awards such as the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award and prize money of up to 20 million won. Top awardees will also have the opportunity to advance to the preliminary league of “K-Startup of the Year 2026.”

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