Press

Underdogs, a startup education company (co-representatives Kim Jung-heon and Cho Sang-rae), is launching the 'Underwoman Impact Community'. The Underwoman Impact Community is being conducted with support from Cartier Women's Initiative, a global program supporting early-stage female entrepreneurs pursuing social impact. The target audience has been newly expanded from married women to all women in their 20s-40s, and the program is being expanded to include conferences and community programs for female social innovation entrepreneurs. 'Underwoman' is a female entrepreneurship education program that Underdogs has been running since 2018, designed to help women in their 30s-40s whose careers have been interrupted by marriage and childcare to grow as entrepreneurs based on their capabilities and social innovation perspectives. The program consists of detailed programs including an online conference providing professional information and insights on female entrepreneurship in Korea (Impact Conference) and a community program (Impact Salon) where early-stage female social innovation entrepreneurs can share concerns from their work. All processes, including startup education using Underdogs' online education platform (StartYours) for participants' capacity building, are provided free of charge. An online conference will be held via Underdogs' official YouTube on October 14, and from September 17 to October 16, companies with women as representatives or in leadership positions will be recruited through Underdogs' official website for community program participation. The final 15 selected companies will participate in monthly startup education for business growth and expert meetings where female entrepreneurs share concerns until March 2022. Companies selected for the 6-month community program will receive two coaching sessions per entrepreneur along with course participation in startup education using online platforms, including monthly expert meetings, with the final goal of developing refined business plans for each company. The online conference will feature keynote speeches and panel discussions with main topics including 'Female Startup Community' (CEO Kim Ji-young, Women's Work and Life) and 'Female Entrepreneurship and Impact Ecosystem' (CEO Nam Bo-hyun, HGI), with panelists including CEO Lee Jung-hee (Seeds & Partners) and CEO Shin Yun-ye (Public Space). Additionally, information about the Underwoman Impact Community program and an introduction to Cartier Women's Initiative will be provided. During the community meetings, information about the 'Cartier Women's Initiative' will be shared, along with guidance for applying to participate as a fellow with global female entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, 'Cartier Women's Initiative' is a global entrepreneurship program launched in 2006 and conducted annually, aimed at encouraging influential female entrepreneurs to demonstrate their potential and lead positive change in society. Aligned with the UN-defined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it targets companies with women in leadership positions in the early growth stage with less than 5 years of business registration that create positive social impact. Fellows selected for Cartier Women's Initiative receive financial support of $30,000-$100,000 (approximately 30-100 million Korean won), mentoring and education for entrepreneurial mindset programs, global media exposure opportunities, and access to online and offline community participation with global female entrepreneurs. In the Underwoman Impact Community program, companies wishing to apply for the Cartier Women's Initiative Fellowship receive one additional online coaching session per company for coaching on writing English business plans.