The 2018 Shanghai Female Entrepreneurship Contest has officially begun, the Shanghai Women’s Federation announced on Tuesday.

The contest will launch an evaluation and road show in September and October. Winners will enjoy favorable policies and financial support. If winners register their startups in the Yangpu District, they will have the chance to set up office in the district’s innovative Changyang Campus.

Weng Wenlei, deputy chairman of the federation, said females are stereotyped as not being good at starting businesses, but that is based in "discrimination and misunderstanding."

“There are no gender differences. It is just a matter of individual differences,” she said.

Local university students and startups led by females can download an application form from the federation’s official website and send the form and required documents to shnxds2018@163.com by September 15.