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Produced by Xinhua Global Service

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.

The conversation at the meeting held at the Government Administration focused on NATO’s open door policy and Georgia’s integration into the North Atlantic Alliance. It was noted that Georgia has always been one of NATO’s most reliable and effective partners with a tremendous contribution to common Euro-Atlantic security.

As the Prime Minister pointed out, in many ways Georgia acts as an Ally, and it is commendable that the Allies have decided to provide Georgia with tailored support measures, which will help further strengthen Georgia’s defense capabilities.

The regional and global security environment and challenges were also discussed. Emphasis was placed on Georgia’s considerable role in cementing security in the Black Sea region.

The discussed topics included the 2nd National Human Rights Strategy approved by the Georgian Government in 2022 and covering the years 2022-2030. It was noted that the strategy dedicates a significant portion to gender equality and envisages constantly upgrading equality and non-discrimination legislation.

The conversation also touched on Georgia’s 2022-2024 National Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, and the Action Plan for Measures to Be Taken in 2022-2024 for Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and Protecting Survivors. It was emphasized that both documents include concrete actions and seek to promote gender equality across a variety of areas.

The meeting was attended by Head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia Alexander Vinnikov and Georgia’s Ambassador to NATO Victor Dolidze.

Press Service of the Government Administration

Results of recent research in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus- conducted by Emerging Europe as part of the She’s NextEmpowered by Visa campaign - show female leaders in the region have a keen interest in digital marketing and social media and are willing to expand their businesses internationally. The survey proves women entrepreneurs in Georgia tend to acquire additional funding   

Tbilisi, March 1, 2023 – Visa today announced the results of research into female leadership and entrepreneurship in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia & the Caucasus conducted by Emerging Europe, a prominent growth hub with expertise in the region, as part of the She’s Next initiative.

The extensive study comprised an online survey of 2,000 business owners or self-employed women in 11 countries, including Georgia, 75 in-depth interviews and focus groups. The findings provide a thorough profile of the average female entrepreneur from the region and will allow stakeholders to understand the struggles and challenges faced by women as they pursue their careers.

“As one of our interviewees said, it is harder for women to raise funds. It is harder in Silicon Valley. It is harder in her country of Armenia. And raising funds is only one of multiple challenges that female entrepreneurs are facing,” said Andrew Wrobel, Founding Partner of Emerging Europe. “In this research, we wanted to explore female entrepreneurship as deep as possible and understand all potential obstacles that might influence the businesses and start-ups women create. We also wanted to explore their needs, as well as potential solutions that could empower them and help their businesses thrive and grow internationally.”

Overall, most women-owned businesses in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus (84 per cent) don’t cross international borders, but female entrepreneurs are willing to learn about doing business abroad. 

The leading sectors where women-owned businesses operate are beauty and wellness (17 per cent), retail (12 per cent), agriculture and food (12 per cent), education (eight per cent) and PR and marketing (seven percent). Two-thirds of female entrepreneurs do not use external financing, while three-quarters do not have any employees. Some 35 per cent of women-owned businesses in the region were set up with an investment of less than 1,000 US dollars. Only one in 10 women employs more than 5 people.

“From its start in 2019, the She’s Next programme was all about empowering female leaders and local communities and helping them thrive,” said Vira Platonova, Visa Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for 17 countries. “That is why it is very important for Visa to learn about the specific needs and concerns of women entrepreneurs in the countries where the initiative is active. We are happy to see female leaders of Georgia and the whole region of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus gradually transition to e-commerce and enjoy convenient and reliable digital payments. We will use the results of the research to bring many more initiatives promoting gender inclusivity in the region.”

Key takeaways

1. Women strive for professional and financial independence. The main sources of motivation for women to start their business are a desire to increase income (50 per cent), willingness to work for themselves (31 per cent) and fulfillment of a dream (21 per cent). In Georgia, the main motivation of women entrepreneurs is to increase their income (55 per cent).
2. Female entrepreneurs care about their business and private lives almost equally. Respondents named business failure (29 per cent), a worsening financial situation (27 per cent) and neglect of family and children (25 per cent) among their biggest concerns. Women in Georgia are mostly concerned about business failure (41 per cent).
3. Women-owned businesses struggle to survive competition and raise funding. Female entrepreneurs tend to face such challenges as high competition (40 per cent), raising capital (32 per cent), and unfavorable business conditions (31 per cent). Respondents in Georgia said that the biggest challenges of setting up and running a business in their country were high competition (36 per cent) followed by obtaining investments and financing (36 per cent).
4. Female entrepreneurs want to learn about doing business online. The primary skills that respondents are willing to obtain are strategies to acquire additional funding (47 per cent), digital marketing and social media (37 per cent), e-commerce (24 per cent) and international business development (21 per cent). In Georgia, the most popular skills to be improved are obtaining additional financing (52 per cent), followed by e-marketing and management of social networks (42 per cent) and development of international business (25 per cent).
5. Women-owned businesses stick to cash when paying employees and suppliers but tend to install POS terminals for customers. 42 per cent of female entrepreneurs pay their employees and suppliers in cash, while 37 per cent prefer card payments. For Georgia, those numbers are 22 per cent, who pay in cash and 45 per cent choose card payments. When it comes to customers, electronic payments are far more popular: 37 per cent of respondents named card payments the most frequent method to pay for their goods and services and 42 per cent said they prefer their customers to pay them by card. In comparison, 35 per cent of female entrepreneurs said their customers paid in cash more often, and only 28 per cent prefer clients to stick to cash. In Georgia 40 per cent choose card payments, only 29 per cent select cash.

The next stage of the Visa and Emerging Europe partnership — which has the ambitious goal of uniting female entrepreneurs throughout the region within the She’s Next community — is to provide them with a platform to communicate, mentor, exchange experiences, and expand the horizons of their businesses.

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About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at visa.com.ge

About Emerging Europe

Emerging Europe is a London-based growth hub that empowers public and private organisations to grow and expand internationally. Our mission is to foster sustainable growth in emerging Europe. We are a go-to partner for those looking to navigate or grow in the region. Through in-depth analysis, market intelligence, research, programmes and engaging content we help businesses, governments, and civil society organisations thrive. We provide them with targeted insight, access to key stakeholders and data to make the right business decisions. Our online platform, Emerging Europe, is the world’s most prominent source of English-language analysis about the region.

"These laws are aimed at blocking Georgians who are helping other Georgians. These are Georgians who are trying to address problems in their communities and provide services, whether it’s on climate change, or for business associations, or for young people, or people with disabilities, legal assistance to people who are in some cases in desperate need. These laws seem to be clearly in line with Russian law, which is aimed at stigmatizing civil society. It’s aimed at silencing dissenting voices. When you look at what’s going on in Russia right now, you see that Russian law has been very effective in silencing civil society and dissenting voices. Georgia has fought hard to build its democracy, to protect its freedoms. These laws will undermine that progress that Georgia has spent so many years building. That is why you hear concerns from the United Nations, from the European Union, from the United States, from many of Georgia’s long-standing friends, who’ve been working with Georgia for over 30 years, to help improve Georgia’s freedoms, protect Georgia’s freedoms, and build the institutions. So that is why people are very concerned. Georgia does not need this law". - Ambassador Degnan about the draft "foreign influence" laws.

US Embassy in Georgia