The BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (BRICS WBA) Women’s Startups Contest 2026

Introduction

The Women’s Startups Contest marks as the prestigious initiative led by the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (BRICS WBA), aimed at empowering and accelerating women-led startups across BRICS nations. This year, India takes the lead, underscoring its strong commitment to promoting women-led development, innovation, and entrepreneurship on the global stage.

Objective

Building on the success of the previous editions, the 2026 edition continues to spotlight innovative, high-impact women-led enterprises, fostering cross-border economic integration, collaboration, and knowledge exchange within the BRICS ecosystem. The initiative provides a dynamic platform for visibility, networking, and business expansion, enabling women entrepreneurs to scale their ventures and engage with investors, industry leaders, and policymakers across BRICS countries.

Requirements

Residency & Market Presence: Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of BRICS nations (Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE), currently operating in one or more BRICS markets, and actively exporting or supplying within these markets.
Female Leadership Role: Must hold a key leadership position (Founder, Co-Founder, or equivalent), play an active role in the startup’s operations & strategy, and have multidisciplinary teams with diverse expertise.
Impact and Sustainability: Demonstrate the long-term social, economic, or environmental impact and sustainability of the solution.
Commercial Viability & Traction: Provide evidence of a viable business model, market demand, and any existing traction or growth.
Solution & Innovation: Clearly describe the solution, the problem it addresses, and its innovative and scalable features.
BRICS Alignment & Scalability: Demonstrate alignment with BRICS priorities and the potential to scale, replicate, and create impact across BRICS countries.

Business Stages

Startups will compete in three different development stages:

EARLY STAGE: Startups in the MVP or prototype phase, focused on validating their concepts, identifying market needs, and establishing a foundation for future growth.
GROWTH: Startups with an established product or service that has achieved initial customer engagement or market acceptance, focused on expanding their operations and refining their models.
SCALE-UP: Mature startups that have achieved significant growth and are expanding into new markets, demonstrating strong operational performance and scalability.

Awards

Start-ups will be evaluated across six categories.
Winners will be selected under each development stage, culminating in 18 finalists.

Application Deadline

Application Deadline: 15 May, 2026