8 Korean Womenpreneurs Present at KWBIZ Showcase in Singapore

• On October 31 in Singapore, the first-ever KWBIZ Innovation Showcase featured eight startups led by women from South Korea
• The goal of the Showcase was to create global connections for women working in innovation

The recently held, inaugural KWBIZ Innovation Showcase, Empowering Women Founders, which highlighted the impact of female entrepreneurs in technology, fashion, health and sustainability, was held in Singapore with eight Korean startups led by women founders.

Event organizers Rachel Yeonji Kim (Director of MICEBRIDGE) and Julie Youngju Choi (CEO, Founder, Kiaora Ventures) shared the background and objectives of the project with us, in an interview for BusinessToday.

The 2025 KWBIZ Innovation Showcase was spearheaded by KWEA (Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association), WESC (Women Enterprise Supporting Centre) and MiceBridge to demonstrate Korean women founders in the global entrepreneurial sphere.

"The seeds for the showcase happened when KWEA's leaders stated their interest in supporting women-led startups, so they can expand globally," Rachel declared.

Singapore was chosen as the launch venue since the business community there closely resembled Korea and Singapore has such a vibrant community of women entrepreneurs. "We just felt Singapore was the best context for a meaningful business relationship," Rachel advised.

All applications received from over 50 female entrepreneurs were screened to select participants for the event. Some of the main criteria included English language fluency, product competitiveness, and evidence of success in the Korean market.

Rachel emphasized that it was all about ensuring that the selected founders could operate as global entrepreneurs in terms of communications and business in general.

The event featured a pitch session format that included two rounds of pitching with each followed by a time to network to create the possibility of collaboration and partnerships.

Rachel said that follow-ups were even arranged between founders and judges to keep the action after the event. She also indicated that she hoped that this event could become annual showcase with more support from both the government and the private sector.

Julie was similarly optimistic and referred to this action as one of the largest steps towards empowering women entrepreneurs onto stage on a world level and also possibly facilitating future cross-border deals.