Korea is strengthening its inclusive innovation strategy with a new five-year roadmap that embeds women entrepreneurship within the nation’s industrial and digital transformation agenda. Backed by a KRW 10 billion (USD 7.3 million) women-focused mother fund, the new Women Startup Fund initiative expands Femtech, AI, and smart-manufacturing opportunities while positioning women-led startups as strategic players in Korea’s next phase of sustainable economic growth.
Korea’s Five-Year Women Entrepreneurship Plan Targets ₩800T in Revenue by 2029
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has announced an ambitious five-year roadmap not only to further empower women in business, but also position women-led enterprises as central players in Korea’s innovation economy.
Unveiled on October 22, the Second Basic Plan to Promote Women Entrepreneurs (2025–2029) outlines comprehensive financial, institutional, and ecosystem support — including a new KRW 10 billion (USD 7.3 million) women-exclusive mother fund and annual KRW 5 trillion (USD 3.6 billion) in policy financing and guarantees.
Through these initiatives, the government aims to raise the combined revenue of women-owned businesses from KRW 626 trillion in 2024 to KRW 800 trillion by 2029, expand the number of women-led enterprises to 100,000, and increase total employment in women-run firms to six million.
Women Startup Fund Initiative: Finance, Innovation, and Inclusion
The plan establishes five national strategies to advance women’s participation in technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership:
1. Accelerating Entry into Advanced and Emerging Industries
MSS will promote women’s participation in Femtech, beauty tech, and food tech, while supporting innovation-driven startups in AI, smart manufacturing, and lifestyle technology.
Through programs like the Super-Gap Startup 1000+ Project, the ministry will also provide women-only R&D projects, encourage open-innovation collaboration between established women entrepreneurs and new founders, and operate customized digital-transformation programs (AX, DX) across smart services and manufacturing.
2. Tailored Startup Support Across All Stages
New programs will nurture aspiring founders across demographics — including university students, career-returning women, and early-stage entrepreneurs.
The Women Business Support Centers will be expanded into regional innovation hubs linked with startup universities, strengthening local ecosystems.
Additional programs will cultivate local women creators and provide experiential learning through CEO lectures, startup competitions, and field visits.
3. Scale-Up and Global Market Expansion
Each year, the ministry will inject KRW 10 billion into a dedicated women startup mother fund, expand policy financing and guarantees (KRW 5 trillion annually), and improve access to venture capital through networking with professional investors and female fund managers.
To support international growth, women-led startups entering new markets will receive aid for promotion, technology development, and exhibition participation, along with export-voucher incentives and participation in industry consortiums for joint overseas expansion.
The government also plans to increase public-institution purchases of women-made products from KRW 12.1 trillion to KRW 20 trillion by 2029, boosting sales channels both domestically and abroad.
4. Creating Women-Friendly Business Environments
Measures include maternity and childcare support for women CEOs, such as expanded Yellow Umbrella maternity loans, subsidies for self-employed women during parental leave, and extended residency for founders in women business incubators.
The ministry will also build integrated workspaces that combine entrepreneurship, employment, and childcare services — supporting women to balance family and business operations.
5. Strengthening Institutional and Policy Infrastructure
The legal recognition of women-owned businesses will be broadened to include agricultural and fisheries cooperatives, previously excluded under the Commercial Act.
Public-purchase rules will also shift from category-based quotas to total procurement ratios, improving efficiency and tracking.
The plan also includes regular data-driven research, policy performance evaluations, and an increase in female evaluators across startup and R&D programs — from 12% in 2024 to 27% by 2029.
Women as a New Growth Engine
Han Seong-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, described the roadmap as a critical milestone for sustainable national growth:
“Women entrepreneurs are both a new growth engine and a core driver of innovation that can help Korea overcome the challenges of low growth and demographic change. The government will implement annual action plans so that women can realize their full potential in entrepreneurship and business.”
Kim Jeong-ju, Director-General of SME Strategy Planning, emphasized that the initiative reflects a paradigm shift in how Korea views women-led businesses — not as social beneficiaries, but as key innovation partners and economic contributors within the national growth model.
Women Startup Fund: Gender Inclusion as Economic Strategy
This new framework marks a broader policy evolution in Korea’s innovation landscape. By positioning women entrepreneurship as a driver of competitiveness, Korea is moving beyond traditional social support measures toward structural inclusion within its startup economy.
With the launch of the new women startup fund, Korea is emerging as a regional pioneer—one of the few economies placing women founders at the center of national innovation policy. It sends a clear message that women’s participation has always been vital to Korea’s growth and now deserves sustained, institutional support regardless of cultural or market constraints.
By connecting financial instruments such as the mother fund and guarantee programs with Femtech, AI manufacturing, and digital transformation, the government is integrating gender inclusion with industrial policy—an approach increasingly recognized across OECD economies.
And so, for global investors and ecosystem partners, Korea’s women-focused fund also opens new collaboration opportunities with venture firms, accelerators, and research institutions supporting women founders and engineers.
Toward a Balanced and Resilient Innovation Economy
Korea’s Second Basic Plan to Promote Women Entrepreneurs signals that inclusive growth is now central to its startup policy.
With clear quantitative targets, cross-ministerial cooperation, and emphasis on emerging industries, the plan redefines women’s entrepreneurship as a pillar of national innovation rather than a peripheral agenda.
If executed effectively, this initiative could become a model for how public capital and gender diversity together strengthen national competitiveness — placing Korea at the forefront of Asia’s next wave of inclusive, innovation-driven economies.
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