Certificate of Women-Owned Business, 66.3% Issued for 'Public Procurement Bidding'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] It was found that 66.3% of the purposes for issuing the Women-Owned Business Certification were for "additional points and preferential treatment in public procurement bidding." On the 13th, the Women’s Economy Research Institute announced the results of a survey on the "Status of Public Procurement by Women-Owned Business Certification Issuers," conducted on a sample of 1,101 companies issued with the certification.

The main purpose for issuing the Women-Owned Business Certification was "additional points and preferential treatment in public procurement bidding," accounting for 66.3%, followed by "preferential treatment in support projects excluding public procurement" at 25.1%. 65.8% of companies responded that they had actual experience utilizing the Women-Owned Business Certification. The fields of utilization were highest in participation in public procurement (27.5%), application for SME policy funds (14.0%), and guarantee support such as technology guarantees and credit guarantees (10.6%).

Regarding experience with public procurement contracts, 278 companies (27.8%) responded that they had such experience, and from 2017 to the first half of 2019, the total number of contracts was 1,570, averaging 5.6 contracts per company.