UN Women Georgia held the first large-scale exhibition and sale of products and services of women entrepreneurs on October 1-2 at the Expo Georgia exhibition center in Tbilisi. During the two-day event, around 100 participants from all over the country had the opportunity to present their products to those in attendance, sell them on site and make contact with potential customers.
The exhibition was hosted as a satellite event of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo 2022 organized by the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.
The event, opened by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, was attended by educational institutions, international organizations and the private sector. Referring to the importance of women’s participation in the country’s socio-economic and business development, Ms. Zourabichvili expressed her support for women’s entrepreneurship: “I want to tell you that the President and her administration are and will be at any time and in any format be by your side.”
HE Sand Andresen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia, said: “Achieving gender equality is very important because it enables women to contribute more to public life. Empowering women aims both at their well-being and at a more sustainable, stable development of the country’s economy.”
At the event, Alia El-Yassir, United Nations Regional Director for Women for Europe and Central Asia, thanked the Government of Georgia, the Government of Norway, partners and women entrepreneurs, noting, “Cooperation is the foundation of these events. I am glad that we have great partners in Georgia and that together we are trying to create more opportunities and a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs to succeed.”
The event included educational sessions, speeches and practical master classes for women entrepreneurs, as well as the exhibition and a sales area.
“I’m excited to be part of this exhibition today,” said Otanadze Design founder Teona Otanadze, who creates handmade, eco-friendly wooden accessories. “I find such major events very important because they give us women the opportunity to show our skills and talents.”
The event was supported by the “Entrepriseerpri Georgia” program, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business and Technology University, TBC Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under the Program for Women Entrepreneurs Government of Sweden.
The Expo satellite event in Georgia was organized in advance of the Regional Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo, which was scheduled to take place virtually on November 16-17.
The Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO is a unique platform, first launched in 2021, to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the region and to provide women entrepreneurs with an interactive space for networking and collaboration, peer learning, idea generation, capacity building and showcasing their companies to offer.
