Ties between Georgian and Azerbaijani rural women growing stronger

UN Women, together with its partners, continues to implement initiatives that serve to establish new connections and collaborations and to share experience and knowledge between women entrepreneurs living in rural areas of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

One such initiative was the conference and study visit organized by CARE Caucasus in Tbilisi on 18 and 19 September 2023 with the support of UN Women, which brought together 30 female entrepreneurs from Georgia and Azerbaijan. The participants introduced their businesses to each other and shared the approaches that have helped them develop their activities and achieve success.

The first part of the conference was devoted to marketing and branding. The women entrepreneurs learned about the importance of a marketing strategy, the role of branding, brand building, budgeting and action planning, the need to gain market access using digital technologies and channels, and managing marketing communications. At the end of the session, an exhibition was held, during which the participants presented their goods - handmade accessories, bags and agricultural products.

The final session of the conference was devoted to modern trends in agriculture. These included new technologies to increase productivity and climate-smart practices in greenhouse farming. The women participating in the conference talked about their experiences on the exchange.

“In general, we think that women living in villages know a lot about agriculture, but these meetings showed me that it is still possible to learn,” said Isolda Ansiani, from Bolnisi Municipality, after the conference. “Each session was very useful for me. In the future, we women may start producing Svan salt, and then I will definitely use the knowledge I received here about marketing and branding.”

On the second day of the conference, a study visit was held in Marneuli Municipality, during which the guests from Azerbaijan visited the businesses of Georgian women entrepreneurs, including a greenhouse, a sewing studio and a beauty salon. The participants talked about their own experiences and challenges and discovered new opportunities for partnership.

“Connecting with other women entrepreneurs is very important to me,” said Nazrin Baghirzadeh, from Khazar in Azerbaijan. “I have received useful advice in the field of agricultural development, and I will definitely use [this guidance] for success. I have an 8-year-old daughter. I want her to learn and develop. If I am economically strong, I will [be able to] give more opportunities to my daughter.”

The conference was held within the framework of the UN Women regional project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus”. The project is being implemented by UN Women in cooperation with the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation, the TASO Foundation and CARE Caucasus, with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Austrian Development Cooperation.