The "5th Women's Enterprise Week," a festival for women entrepreneurs in Korea, will be held nationwide from July 1 to 7. This year's event adopts the slogan "Women-owned businesses that grow through technology and connect through consolidation," and will present a range of programs to strengthen women-owned businesses' technological competitiveness and expand their markets.
Women's Enterprise Week is a statutory week held during the first week of July each year under the Act on Support for Women-owned Businesses to raise awareness of the role of women-owned businesses that have contributed to the national economy and to bolster pride. It is hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and co-organized by the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association, the Korea Women Venture Association, the Korea Women Inventors Association, the Korea Women IT Business Association, and the Korean Federation of Women's Science and Technology Associations.
This year's Women's Enterprise Week will feature a total of 64 programs across 21 regions nationwide. In addition to the opening ceremony and a policy forum, a variety of events will support the growth of women-owned businesses, including market expansion, public procurement, overseas expansion, job creation, and nurturing the femtech industry, with some programs continuing throughout July.
The opening ceremony announcing the start of the event will be held on July 1 at the Dynasty Hall of THE SHILLA Seoul. The ceremony will include commendations for contributors among women-owned businesses, exhibition booths by promising technology-based women-owned businesses, and W-Speech sessions by Inertia and Hudson AI, with about 500 women entrepreneurs and others attending.
On the 3rd, a policy forum will be held at the No. 1 Small Conference Room of the National Assembly Members' Office Building under the theme "Structural transition to promote women's tech startups in the AI era." It will assess the challenges facing women-founded startups in the age of AI transition and discuss effective support measures. On the same day, at Nine Tree Premier ROKAUS Hotel Yongsan, the "27th Women's Startup Competition Awards" will be held to encourage outstanding women-founded startups.
Support to expand sales channels will also be strengthened. Throughout July, a "win-win special exhibition of excellent products from women-owned businesses" will run on 11Street, Coupang, Gong Young Home Shopping, and Yeou Hot Deal, supporting product sales growth and promotion through channel-specific promotions. On the 7th, the "MD consultation meeting to strengthen market-entry capabilities for women-owned businesses" will be held at COEX Magok Le West Hall B, where 120 women-owned businesses will conduct one-on-one consultations with MDs from major retailers to assess their chances of entry and product competitiveness.
Online programs will also be operated to secure talent and create jobs. Through the "Excellent Women-owned Business Hiring Weekday," linked to Saramin's dedicated recruitment section for women-owned businesses, hiring by women-owned businesses will be supported, and the "Women-owned Business Job Hub Matching Day" will continue through Aug. to support job matching between employers and jobseekers.
Training to enter overseas markets and the public procurement market will continue. On the 8th, the "Overseas trend training for women-owned businesses with Shopee Korea," aimed at entering Southeast Asian markets, will be held online, and on the 15th, at the headquarters of the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association in Gangnam District, Seoul, the "Nara Marketplace briefing and consultation for women-owned businesses" will be held to enhance practical capabilities in bidding and contracting.
On the 23rd, "2026 Femtech Plus" will be held at Tipstown S6 in Gangnam District, Seoul. The event will examine the latest investment trends in the femtech sector, which is drawing attention as a high value-added industry, introduce related promising corporations, and provide opportunities to attract private investment and collaborate.
Park Chang-suk, president of the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association, said, "Women-owned businesses are pioneering new market value for our economy based on innovative technological prowess and a meticulous sensibility," adding, "Through the 5th Women's Enterprise Week, we hope to widely promote the competitiveness and potential of women-owned businesses to the market and to further spread public support and consensus for women-owned businesses, the protagonists of the future economy."