The stability and productivity of domestic women-owned corporations have improved, but revenue and activity have decreased.
The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups announced on the 26th the results of the "2024 Women-Owned Corporations Survey." Women-owned corporations refer to businesses owned and operated by women that have at least one employee. This survey was conducted on 260,776 women-owned corporations in the country as of the end of December 2023.
According to the survey results, in terms of stability, the debt ratio of women-owned corporations improved from 135.2% in 2022 to 123.1% in 2023. During the same period, average sales per person increased from 200 million won to 208 million won, thereby enhancing productivity. However, the net profit margin decreased from 5.1% in 2022 to 3.5% in 2023, and the equity turnover ratio, which indicates activity, fell from 2.2 times to 1.5 times.
The export and research and development indicators, which indicate growth for women-owned corporations, showed positive results. In 2023, the export experience (2.4%) and export-to-sales ratio (3.1%) increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year. The research and development investment experience in 2023 was at 4.2%, similar to last year, but the average investment amount rose significantly to 249 million won compared to 118 million won in 2022.
The top strength perceived by women entrepreneurs is delicacy (42.1%), while the top weakness is the spirit of challenge (38.4%). The most disadvantageous area for women entrepreneurs compared to Namsung entrepreneurs is the burden of balancing work and family (36.6%).
The policy support that women entrepreneurs need most is ranked as follows: 1st financial support (31.7%), 2nd tax support (29.8%), 3rd human resources support (16.1%), and 4th market access support (14.8%). The utilization effect was also highest for financial support (90.8%). The experience rate of government supply through public procurement is 14.0%, and the percentage that found it helpful was 77.0%.
The capability factor that women-owned corporations perceive as the most lacking for international expansion is holding overseas certification qualifications (59.2%), and the country most chosen for international expansion is the United States.
Kim Jeong-joo, Director of Small and Medium Enterprises Strategy at the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups, noted, "To support the effective growth of women-owned corporations, whose contribution to and significance for our economic growth is increasing day by day, we will prepare the '2nd Basic Plan for Promoting Women-Owned Corporations' reflecting the current status and policy needs of women-owned corporations identified in this survey within the year."