Top 10 Startup Competitions for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia in 2025
The entrepreneurial landscape for women in Asia is rapidly evolving, with various competitions designed to empower female founders and innovators. These startup competitions aim to provide funding, resources, and networking opportunities for women-led businesses across diverse sectors. Here is a detailed overview of the Top 10 Startup Competitions for Female Entrepreneurs in Asia in 2025, including their focus, eligibility, prizes, and timelines.
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1. Unlock Her Future Prize 2025: South Asia
Focus: Social entrepreneurship, supporting women-led startups.
Region: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Prizes: Business grant of up to $100,000, executive education program with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, leadership coaching, access to expert mentors, and networking through The Bicester Collection's network.
Eligibility: Women aged 18+, with startups in the idea or growth stage (operating under three years with less than $1 million in revenue).
Timeline: Applications open until March 10, 2025; finalists pitch in October, and winners announced in November 2025.
2. Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award 2025
Focus: Innovative solutions in health and food security.
Region: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Prizes: €25,000 cash prize, a sponsored trip to the award ceremony, and a six-month accelerator program.
Eligibility: Women-led enterprises in health or food security; must be part of the leadership team.
Timeline: Application deadline is February 18, 2025; awards in June 2025, with an accelerator program from June to December.
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3. 14th Women's Business Grand Prix 2025 in Shinagawa
Focus: Business plans from female entrepreneurs.
Region: Shinagawa Ward, Japan.
Prizes: Cash prize of ¥300,000 for the Grand Prix winner.
Eligibility: Female entrepreneurs with business plans that promote sustainable revenue and leverage local characteristics.
Timeline: Applications open until November 23, 2024, with final screening on February 23, 2025.
4. Women's Venture Competition 2025 (AIM-HI)
Focus: Women-led oncology companies.
Region: Worldwide, including Asia.
Prizes: Specific prizes not detailed but includes funding opportunities.
Eligibility: Women-led companies focused on oncology.
Timeline: Application deadline is March 15, 2025.
5. ASEAN-Japan Young Women Entrepreneurship Summit 2025
Focus: Challenges and opportunities for scaling businesses in ASEAN and Japan.
Region: ASEAN countries and Japan.
Prizes: A summit format focusing on networking, cooperation, and addressing challenges, without direct prizes.
Eligibility: Young women entrepreneurs in ASEAN and Japan.
Timeline: February 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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6. Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC)
Focus: Deep-tech startups with sustainable urban innovations.
Region: Global, with a significant presence in Asia.
Prizes: 50 finalist teams to participate in a week-long event in Singapore, access to venture capitalists, and high-profile business leaders.
Eligibility: Startups focusing on deep-tech and sustainable urban innovations.
Timeline: Finalist teams in Singapore from September 29 to October 2, 2025.
7. Women Leading Change Awards 2025 (Campaign Asia)
Focus: Recognizing women who champion change in the marketing communications community.
Region: Asia-Pacific.
Prizes: Recognition and spotlight for achievements in the industry.
Eligibility: Women leaders and rising stars in media, advertising, PR, and marketing sectors.
Timeline: Early bird deadline is February 5, 2025; final deadline on March 13, and winners announced on May 27, 2025.
8. EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Asia-Pacific Program
Focus: Aid high-potential women founders with resources and connections.
Region: Asia-Pacific.
Prizes: Connections with investors and business advisors.
Eligibility: High-potential women founders with profitable companies.
Timeline: Applications for the 2025 program are currently closed, but info available for future programs.
9. Women's Health Challenge for Startups
Focus: Startups developing nutrition-based solutions for women's health.
Region: Potentially relevant to Asia.
Prizes: Specific prizes not stated, likely includes funding or mentorship.
Eligibility: Startups focused on women’s health and nutrition.
Timeline: Application deadline is January 31, 2025.
10. Grants for Women Entrepreneurs in Energy Sector (ECOWAS)
Focus: Grants for women entrepreneurs in the energy sector.
Region: Primarily focused on West Africa (ECOWAS), potentially extending to other regions.
Prizes: Grants for women entrepreneurs in the energy sector.
Eligibility: Women entrepreneurs in the energy field.
Timeline: Application deadline is February 20, 2025.
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FAQ
Q: What is the Unlock Her Future Prize?
A: The Unlock Her Future Prize 2025 supports women-led startups in South Asia that focus on social entrepreneurship. They provide a business grant of up to $100,000, along with educational and mentoring opportunities. Learn more about the Unlock Her Future Prize.
Q: What does the Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award offer?
A: The Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award 2025 gives a cash prize of 25,000 Euros and a six-month accelerator program to women-led enterprises in health and food security. Discover more about the Bayer Foundation Award.
Q: How does the Women's Business Grand Prix in Shinagawa work?
A: The 14th Women's Business Grand Prix 2025 in Shinagawa provides a cash prize of ¥300,000 to female entrepreneurs with innovative business plans. Find out more about the Women's Business Grand Prix.
Q: Who is eligible for the Women's Venture Competition?
A: The Women's Venture Competition 2025 (AIM-HI) targets women-led companies focusing on oncology, providing them with a funding opportunity. Learn more about this competition.
Q: What is the purpose of the ASEAN-Japan Young Women Entrepreneurship Summit?
A: The ASEAN-Japan Young Women Entrepreneurship Summit 2025 aims to foster collaboration and address challenges faced by young women entrepreneurs from ASEAN countries and Japan. Explore the summit details.
Q: What does the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition focus on?
A: The Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition emphasizes deep-tech startups that prioritize sustainable urban innovations and includes opportunities for networking with investors. Check out more information about this competition.
Q: What recognition is offered by the Women Leading Change Awards?
A: The Women Leading Change Awards 2025 recognizes outstanding women leaders in the marketing communications community, offering visibility for their achievements. Learn more about the awards.
Q: What opportunities are available through the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program?
A: The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Asia-Pacific Program connects high-potential women founders with investors and business advisors to help them scale their companies. Discover more about the EY program.
Q: What is the focus of the Women's Health Challenge for Startups?
A: The Women's Health Challenge for Startups supports startups developing nutrition-based solutions aimed at improving women's health and wellness. Find out more about this challenge.
Q: What are the Grants for Women Entrepreneurs in the Energy Sector?
A: The Grants for Women Entrepreneurs in Energy Sector (ECOWAS) provide financial support to women entrepreneurs focused on the energy sector. Learn more about these grants.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
