The EBRD's Women in Business Programme has trained Armenian and Georgian women entrepreneurs in ICT.
The EBRD Small Business Support (SBS) recognises gender equality and gender-related issues as a fundamental component to promote the development and sustainability of the micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) sector.
Improving business through ICT skills
In 2009, Women in Business has identified and recruited a group of women entrepreneurs from the Caucasus with the skills and determination to advance their communities by building viable businesses and offered them ICT training in Taipei China. There, they learned about the latest technologies used to support small and medium enterprises. For example, Araksya Melkonyan, of the IAB Centre, was introduced to a business model that fosters collaboration between employers and training centres and given ideas on how to involve Armenian businesses in the courses she offers in her training centre. Tamari Gabisonia of the Caucasus University in Tbilisi applied the newly acquired training methodologies in her internet-based training classes.
Promoting gender equality in the MSME sector
The Women in Business Programme has helped to empower new women leaders in small and medium-sized businesses with the skills, resources and self-confidence to support Georgia and Armenia’s private sector growth.
The Women in Business Programme has been implemented in Armenia and Georgia thanks to donor support from the TaiwanBusiness - EBRD Cooperation Fund, the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) and the EBRD Early Transition Countries (ETC) Fund.
