IDP Women Learn about Opportunities to Develop Sustainable Entrepreneurship

What business opportunities do IDP women have in Georgia’s regions? How can they start up an enterprise with little finances? These are some of the issues that IDP women discussed during a training entitled “Supporting Sustainable Entrepreneurship for IDP Women”.

The training was organized by UN Women and UN Women’s partner organization, TASO Foundation in the village of Misaktsieli from 10 to 12 May 2017. The training was financially supported by the European Union and implemented by the Rural Communities Development Agency. The Agency’s representatives informed the IDPs living in Samegrelo, Imereti and Shida Kartli regions about potential business ideas in the fields of eco-sustainable technologies, the commercialization of agricultural inputs, and the means and stages of using biomass residues.

Rostom Gamisonia, head of the Agency, expressed his willingness to continue working with the participants: “We have promoted all the opportunities that are available in various regions of Georgia today for enhancing women’s economic and social activities. The participants learned about the advantages, the chances for success and the economic effects that are related to the establishment of cooperatives. We should note that many participants have already come up with business ideas and are planning to write project proposals. This is a significant achievement”.

Participating IDP women visited the IDP cooperative “Tkis Nobati” in Pasanauri. They learned about the model of an enterprise that was founded with little funding and listened to the shared experience of its founders in situ. At the end of the training, they discussed new ideas and undertakings for receiving small grants.

Nino Meshveliani, who lives in Tskaltubo, is one of those whose objective to establish her own business idea took shape after the training, remarking: “I am interested in dry fruit production. During these three days, I got so much useful information that now I have a stronger desire to turn my thoughts into a successful reality. Besides, a friend of mine owns a land parcel. It is possible to grow blueberries there and produce tea”.

As they return to their communities after the training, the IDPs will share their acquired knowledge with others. Eka Daudashvili noted that the information she received will help her participate in other projects in the future: “It was very important for me to learn what is needed for writing a businessplan, what I should be focused on and how to promote advantages, which will be an asset for project implementation in the long run. I will always use this knowledge”.

The training “Supporting Sustainable Entrepreneurship for IDP Women” was held within the framework of the project “Equal Access of IDPs to Economic Opportunities in Georgia”, implemented by UN Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and funded by the European Union. By providing fair and equal access to livelihoods, the project aims to support the social-economic empowerment of the most vulnerable groups in Georgia.