‘It is never too late to learn’

“Do you like pears?” asked Lia Mikeladze, as she took out ripe and colourful pears of the Carmen variety from her bag, which she had brought with her from the village, and arranged them neatly on her now ex-trainers’ table before beginning to present her business idea.

Lia is 57 and lives in the village of Koshka with her family, near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) in Gori Municipality. As a former teacher, she has been a civic activist for a long time, striving for the betterment of her community and addressing the problems of her people there. And now she is in Tbilisi to present her business proposal today.

“Recently, an Italian variety of pear, the ‘Carmen’, was introduced to Georgia from Europe, quickly gaining popularity,” says Lia. “And its price is pretty high. As you know, Gori Municipality is famous for horticulture, and many people, including myself, started to grow Carmen pears. I planted 480 pear trees this spring, but the rows need reinforcement. Fruit-bearing trees need to be secured with wooden and cement poles into one alley to prevent them from falling due to weight or wind.”

The idea of an alley came to her mind during the training “Practical Course in Entrepreneurship: How to Start Business”. Initiated by UN Women, the free-of-charge training course was designed for the women living along the ABL, and 32 participants from the regions of Shida Kartli and Samegrelo attended it in September and October 2024.

The training helped the women gain important knowledge about entrepreneurship, financial accounting and the Tax Code. They also acquired practical skills for business management and expansion while developing new ideas. Trainers from the Academy of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia led the course, and after its completion the participants presented their business ideas to the trainers and received certificates.

“The trainings were very interesting and easy to understand,” Lia says. “We had an opportunity to ask any question and get answers to them. I became so excited about the idea of a pear alley that it made me feel happy to go to the sessions. It is a great course indeed, and everyone, not just me, should take it. I will post this certificate on Facebook and write: ‘It is never too late to learn.’”

Women who completed the course and successfully presented their business ideas will have an opportunity to apply for grants during the next project phase and to receive funding to implement their plans. Lia will definitely submit her application, and she knows that her harvest will face less risk if she wins.

Supporting women entrepreneurs near the ABL can play a crucial role for enhancing economic empowerment and security, both for individual women and for entire communities as well. Even small business activities can bring positive changes, especially in the villages that experience high internal migration and where people live in constant fear and financial hardship. Together with increased revenues, the UN Women initiative will contribute to this objective as well.

The practical training course on entrepreneurship for women living near the ABL was conducted within the framework of UN Women’s programme “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies”, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented in collaboration with UN Women at both the regional (Europe and Central Asia) and national levels in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.