5th Women's Business Week to open Tuesday as Korea counts 3.37 million women entrepreneurs

The 5th Women's Business Week, designed to support Korea's 3.37 million women entrepreneurs, will run from Tuesday through July 7. This year's event features programs aimed at expanding the growth base for women-led businesses, covering AI-era technology startups, femtech, market access and public procurement.

The Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association (KWEA) announced Tuesday that it will host the 5th Women's Business Week during the first week of July, a period designated by law for the occasion. The event was established under the Act on Support for Women's Enterprises to raise awareness of the role women-led businesses play in the national economy and to strengthen the pride of women entrepreneurs.

This year's event is hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and co-organized by KWEA, the Korea Women Venture Association, the Korea Women Inventors Association, the Korea Women IT Entrepreneurs Association and the Korea Federation of Women's Science and Technology Associations.

The slogan for this year is "Women's businesses that grow through technology and connect through sensibility." The theme reflects a vision of building technology-driven competitiveness while forging closer connections with consumers and markets to create new business opportunities.

A total of 64 programs will be held across 21 regions nationwide during the week. Key events include an opening ceremony and awards for distinguished contributors, a policy forum, an awards ceremony for the women's startup competition, a joint promotional exhibition of outstanding products from women-led businesses, hiring programs, overseas expansion training, a public procurement briefing and a "Femtech Plus" session. Some sales events and regional programs will continue throughout July.

The opening ceremony takes place Tuesday afternoon at the Dynasty Hall of the Seoul Shilla Hotel, with about 500 participants expected, including women entrepreneurs. The ceremony will feature awards for distinguished contributors to women's enterprise, exhibition booths showcasing promising technology-based women's companies, and W-Speech presentations by Inersia and Hudson AI.

Policy discussions will center on women's technology entrepreneurship in the AI era. On Thursday, a policy forum titled "Structural Transformation for Activating Women's Technology Startups in the AI Era" will be held at Meeting Room 1 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building. The forum will examine the challenges facing women-led startups during the AI transition and explore ways to improve the support system.

On the same day, the 27th Women's Startup Competition Awards Ceremony will be held at Nine Tree Premier Hotel Rooftop Lounge Yongsan. The competition is designed to identify outstanding women entrepreneurs and help them enter the startup ecosystem. This year's ceremony will include an exhibition of award-winning ventures, experience-sharing sessions with top entrepreneurs and a networking event.

Programs to expand market access have also been arranged. Throughout July, a joint promotional exhibition of outstanding products from women-led businesses will run on 11st, Coupang Inc, Public Home Shopping and Yeou Hot Deal, with channel-specific promotions to support sales and marketing for women's enterprises. On July 7, a merchandise director consultation event to strengthen the market access capabilities of women-led businesses will be held at Coex Magok Le West Hall B, where 120 women-owned companies will hold one-on-one consultations with buyers from major retailers.

Hiring support will run in parallel. A "Outstanding Women's Business Hiring Weekday" program linked to a dedicated women's enterprise recruitment section on Saramin will operate alongside a "Women's Business Job Hub Matching Day" connecting women-led companies with job seekers, which will continue through August.

Training for overseas market entry and public procurement will also be offered. On July 8, an online session titled "Women's Business Overseas Trend Training with Shopee Korea" will be held to help companies enter Southeast Asian markets. On July 15, a briefing and consultation session on the government's public procurement marketplace will be held at KWEA's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

On July 23, "2026 Femtech Plus" will be held at Tips Town S6 in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event will share investment trends in the femtech sector — which combines women's health and technology — and provide opportunities to introduce promising companies, attract private investment and explore collaboration.

"Women's businesses are pioneering new market value in our economy, backed by innovative technology and keen sensibility," KWEA President Park Chang-sook said. "Through the 5th Women's Business Week, I hope to widely communicate the competitiveness and potential of women's enterprises to the market, and to build broader public support for women's businesses as the driving force of the future economy."