Georgia hosts large-scale exhibition and sale of goods produced by women entrepreneurs

On the initiative of UN Women, Georgia hosted a large-scale exhibition and sale of products made by entrepreneurial women in Tbilisi for the second consecutive year. On 21 and 22 October, 160 female entrepreneurs from different regions of the country had the opportunity to present their products to visitors at the Expo Georgia Exhibition Center, sell them on the spot and establish important business contacts.

The opening of the event was attended by Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia; Alkis Drakinos, Regional Head of the Caucasus for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); and guests from the private sector, business associations and the media.

“I believe that this large-scale exhibition and sale will give women entrepreneurs in Georgia more awareness and opportunities for business development,” Ms. Ishikawa said in her speech. Mr. Drakinos focused on the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in his remarks: “We are glad that for the second year, together with our partners, we have the opportunity to support the exhibition and sale of extraordinary products [made by] women entrepreneurs. Together with donors, we continue to promote women’s entrepreneurship, be it loans for their businesses or consultations.”

The goal of the exhibition and sale was to promote women’s entrepreneurship in Georgia. The event has already helped many participants to establish interesting business connections and new prospective partnerships.

“The exhibition has been a great opportunity,” said participant Una Kutateladze, who produces herbal pet care products under the ‘Mouare’ brand. “I’ve met a lot of women entrepreneurs and people who are interested in my work. I think this is a very big step forward for the business.

It is significant that this year, for the first time in the exhibition space, a separate corner was allocated for tech start-ups founded by women. “Holding more events like this will be a great support for us. General and complex exhibitions are very interesting for us too,” said Tamar Bosikashvili, co-founder of the tech start-up Aisitec.

Along with the exhibition and sales area, other activities were awaiting the visitors during the two-day event at Expo Georgia, including a children’s entertainment and educational corner as well as food and music spaces, where young female DJs put the guests in a good mood.

The supporters and organizers of the event were the EBRD, TBC Bank, the Georgian Farmers’ Association, Expo Georgia, Business and Technology University, and the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The exhibition and sales initiative was part of a wider regional expo that was held in parallel to Georgia in several countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine. The event in Georgia was part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment component of the project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia”, which is implemented with the support of the Norwegian Government.