Yongsan District Launches 3rd Cohort of Women's Startup Academy

Strengthened AI Training and Introduction of Alumni Networking Sessions

On May 7, Yongsan District in Seoul (Mayor Heeyoung Park) announced on May 8 that it held the opening ceremony for the "2026 Yongsan Women's Startup Academy" at Yongsan Women's Plaza, targeting 24 female prospective entrepreneurs. This event is part of the third cohort of the "Yongsan Women's Start-Up Project."

Yongsan District Mayor Heeyoung Park and participants are taking a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of the Yongsan Women's Startup Academy. Provided by Yongsan District Office.

Now in its third year, this project is a customized support initiative that helps female residents—including women with career experience, prospective entrepreneurs, and early-stage founders—develop their startup ideas into viable businesses. The 24 participants were selected through document screening and interviews.

The program is divided into basic and advanced courses, operated in stages. The basic course will run twice a week until June 2 and focuses on strengthening foundational capabilities, including establishing a business blueprint, conducting market research and customer analysis, and understanding the startup process. The advanced course will be held from June 4 to July 2 and will center on practical topics such as early-stage accounting and financial management, understanding funding and support initiatives, and successful strategies for crowdfunding.

This year, in response to the evolving startup environment, the academy will strengthen its training on the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) and newly introduce the "Meeting with Yongsan Women's Start-Up Alumni." The purpose is to enable participants to share the experiences of predecessors who have already launched businesses, reduce early-stage trial and error, and help establish networks among participants. At the "One-Day Market" event, held in conjunction with Gender Equality Week, students will have the opportunity to directly showcase their products and services to local residents and gain hands-on experience with real-world sales channels.

In the first and second cohorts, a total of 13 teams launched businesses in a range of fields, including solo beauty care, children's cosmetics, and education and service industries. The district plans to work in partnership with the Yongsan Women's Human Resources Development Center to provide follow-up support and devise further startup assistance measures for graduates.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor Heeyoung Park and Eunju Park, Director of the Yongsan Women's Human Resources Development Center, among others.

Mayor Heeyoung Park stated, "The Yongsan Women's Start-Up Project serves as a growth platform that helps women challenge new possibilities based on their experiences and ideas," adding, "We will actively support participants so that their entrepreneurial dreams can be translated into tangible achievements through field-oriented startup education and practical support programs."

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