Saeil Centers Expand Support for Women Entrepreneurs... Launch 'On-site Entrepreneurship Consulting' Service

by Oh Jooyean

Published 06 May.2026 12:00(KST)

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will strengthen support for women’s entrepreneurship in stages through the Women’s New Work Centers (Saeil Centers), which are currently operated at 159 locations nationwide.

On May 6, the Ministry announced plans to establish a support system for each phase-business planning, preparation, and preliminary entrepreneurship-centered around 40 Saeil Centers staffed with dedicated entrepreneurship personnel.

Saeil Centers Expand Support for Women Entrepreneurs... Launch 'On-site Entrepreneurship Consulting' Service

During the business planning stage, the centers will provide entrepreneurship diagnostics, consulting, and entrepreneurship training. In the preparation stage, mentoring and on-site counseling will be offered. For the preliminary entrepreneurship stage, the centers will connect participants with support for business commercialization funds and workspace. After launching a business, the centers will also provide post-launch management.

In addition, the Ministry will operate entrepreneurship training programs that reflect market demand, such as the ‘AI Digital Content-Based Online Entrepreneurship Course’ and the ‘AI Convergence Local Creator Development Course.’

At Saeil Centers without dedicated entrepreneurship staff, the Ministry plans to expand the ‘On-site Entrepreneurship Consulting’ service. The number of centers running this service increased from three in 2024 to 15 last year. This year, the Ministry plans to increase it further to 20 centers.

Since 2017, Saeil Centers have been providing entrepreneurship diagnostics, counseling, information, training, mentoring, and consulting to women with career experience who wish to start a business. They also collaborate with related ministries and organizations, such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, to offer connections to funding and startup spaces. Last year, over 2,300 women successfully started their own businesses through support from Saeil Centers.

Lee Kyung-sook, policy chief of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, “Entrepreneurship is a creative process that shifts the employment paradigm from ‘finding a job’ to ‘creating a job.’ We will continue to foster a startup ecosystem so that Saeil Centers can serve as the starting point for women-friendly entrepreneurship, and we will strive to expand women’s participation in economic activities through tailored employment and startup support.”