Overview
The BRICS Women’s Startups Contest 2026, organized by the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (BRICS WBA), is a premier initiative aimed at empowering women-led startups across BRICS nations. This year, India leads the initiative, highlighting its commitment to fostering women’s entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership on a global stage.
Building on the success of previous editions, the 2026 contest provides a platform for women entrepreneurs to showcase innovative, high-impact solutions, gain visibility, and access cross-border business opportunities. The contest also promotes collaboration, knowledge exchange, and economic integration among BRICS countries, supporting the scaling of women-led ventures with potential global impact.
Objectives of the Contest
The contest is designed to advance multiple strategic goals:
Foster Sustainable Development: Encourage ventures that contribute to environmental and social sustainability.
Promote Economic Inclusion: Support women entrepreneurs in accessing funding, markets, and networks.
Strengthen BRICS Integration: Build collaboration and shared economic growth among BRICS nations.
Support Innovation in Key Sectors: Incentivize technological and business model innovation.
Enhance Entrepreneurial Resilience: Equip women-led startups to withstand market challenges.
Highlight Women-Led Solutions: Focus on enterprises addressing global challenges.
Raise Awareness of Sustainable Practices: Promote environmentally and socially responsible entrepreneurship.
Encourage Technological Adoption: Advance digital transformation in startups.
Strengthen Local Economies: Connect local businesses to regional and global markets.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
Residency & Market Presence
Be a citizen or permanent resident of a BRICS country (Brazil, China, India, Russia, South Africa) or participating extended nations (Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE).
Operate in one or more BRICS markets.
Actively exporting or supplying products/services in these markets.
Female Leadership Role
Must hold a key leadership position (Founder, Co-Founder, or equivalent).
Be actively involved in strategy and daily operations.
Teams with multidisciplinary expertise are encouraged.
Impact & Sustainability
Demonstrate long-term social, economic, or environmental impact.
Commercial Viability & Traction
Show evidence of a viable business model, market demand, and growth indicators.
Innovation & Solution
Clearly define the problem addressed and innovative features of the solution.
Demonstrate scalability and replication potential.
BRICS Alignment & Scalability
Show how the venture aligns with BRICS priorities and can create cross-border impact.
Business Stage Categories
The contest is open to startups across three stages of development:
Early Stage: MVP or prototype phase; validating concepts and market fit.
Growth Stage: Established product/service with initial customer engagement; focusing on scaling operations.
Scale-Up Stage: Mature startups with significant growth and expansion into new markets.
Sector Categories
Startups can apply in the following sectors:
Healthcare and Wellbeing
Agriculture & Food Security
Education and Skill Development
Energy, Infrastructure, and Mobility
Commerce, Service, and Digital Transformation
Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions
Evaluation Criteria
Applications are evaluated based on six weighted criteria:
Impact & Sustainability: 25%
Solution & Innovation: 25%
Commercial Viability & Traction: 20%
BRICS Alignment & Scalability: 10%
Technology Readiness & Capability: 10%
Partnerships & Networks: 10%
Awards & Recognition
Winners are selected in each development stage and sector category, producing a total of 18 finalists.
Selected startups gain exposure to investors, industry leaders, and policymakers, along with opportunities for networking and scaling across BRICS nations.
Timeline
19 March 2026: Contest launch & submissions open
15 May 2026: Submission deadline
July 2026: Winners announced
September 2026: Winners travel to India for awards ceremony
September 2026: Finalists return to their respective countries
Application Process
The contest follows a three-step evaluation process:
Qualification: Verify eligibility, leadership, and stage of development.
Technical Analysis: Sector-specific experts evaluate the startup, considering regional and sector-specific challenges.
Final Review: Shortlisted applications are assessed for alignment with BRICS priorities and regional impact potential.
Applicants can download guidelines, handbooks, and terms & conditions from the official website to support their application journey.
Contest History
Launched in 2024 under Russia’s BRICS chairship, the Women’s Startups Contest has recognized 26 winners from 14 countries, including Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, UAE, and others. Past winners include startups leveraging AI in healthcare, education, agriculture, and aviation, as well as solutions addressing cancer, infertility, and infrastructure automation.
For more opportunities such as these please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn and WPChannel
Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the organization offering the fellowship. For any inquiries, please contact the official organization directly. Please do not send your applications & CVs to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails, we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.
Related