Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian women entrepreneurs share their experience with one another
Date:
UN Women, together with the international organization CARE Caucasus and other local partners, continuously assists in sharing useful information, practices and opportunities among Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian women entrepreneurs. Regional online meetings have become a kind of tradition, having been held regularly since 2020 within the framework of the UN Women project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus”. These online sessions are an effective platform for women entrepreneurs living in the three countries, enabling them to present their activities, strengthen their motivation and gain new knowledge.
The tradition continued this year and brought together 235 participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia for virtual meetings from 6 to 13 December. A total of four online sessions were held within the initiative and were dedicated to marketing and branding, food safety and regulations.
Each session was facilitated by industry experts. They mainly focused on the role of marketing and branding, on the challenges in sales, and on the use of social media and advertising, among other topics. During the food safety and regulations sessions, special emphasis was placed on the observance of the safety standards for food products and the correct fulfilment of the requirements stipulated by the legislation. Women entrepreneurs were particularly interested in organic farming and its advantages; therefore, one part of the sessions was devoted to this topic as well.
“At the regional meeting, I had the opportunity to present my product - tenili cheese - to the participants and to share its preparation techniques,” said participant Inga Maghradze, who produces cheese and lives in the village of Nakalakevi in Aspindza Municipality. “I really liked the advice concerning food safety and the safe use of milk. I will definitely use this knowledge and put it into practice in the future.”
It is worth noting that the women entrepreneurs participating in the online sessions also talked about the barriers that they had to overcome in the process of starting or developing their businesses. They also focused on the ways of solving those problems and the factors contributing to their success.
The online sessions between Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian women entrepreneurs are part of the UN Women project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus”, which is implemented with the financial support of the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation, the TASO Foundation, CARE Caucasus, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).