BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5. Azerbaijani women actively participate in the socio-economic life of the country, and their share in the total number of the employed population is 48.2 per cent. Women's entrepreneurship is significant since they make up roughly 21.3 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Azerbaijan, a country where SMEs are one of the priorities for both the government and the private sector.
About half of all employed people are women, and they significantly contribute to Azerbaijan's socio-economic well-being. Azerbaijani women have become more actively involved in entrepreneurship with the country's transition to a more modern and diversified economy. In order to further increase the active participation of women in the economy of Azerbaijan, the Women's National Business Agenda (WNBA) has been prepared with the support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The WNBA is a white paper prepared by leading women's business associations and organizations to support women's entrepreneurship. Thus, recommendations have been prepared in three main areas: support for women entrepreneurs, support for women in the labor market and development of gender-sensitive support mechanisms.
"When we talk about the development of women entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan, micro-entrepreneurship comes first. There are very few women who own medium and large businesses. Women's entrepreneurship in rural areas has potential in terms of regional development, playing a big role in the socio-economic development of the regions," Gulbaniz Ganbarova, Chair at Azerbaijan Rural Women's Association told Trend.
According to her, there are currently 80,000 women farmers in Azerbaijan. "We attract rural women to the collective business. Thus, they support each other, and this also contributes to the diversification of business. As a result, business is growing, and women's groups are also attracting other women to work in the villages. Therefore, women in the regions are not only entrepreneurs but also leaders of their communities," Ganbarova said.
She pointed out that the Association, working on the improvement of the well-being of women in the regions, is proud to be a part of the WNBA process aimed at creating a favourable business environment for women entrepreneurs working across Azerbaijan.
"While talking about the WNBA, we mean their education, business and much more. The WNBA contains a number of recommendations in connection with the increase in the number of businesswomen and the reduction of difficulties they face in their entrepreneurial activities," she said.
She also noted the financial difficulties faced by women in business and the importance of the WNBA in overcoming them. "Women entrepreneurs have two main sources of financing. They formed the first, a deposit fund by themselves, and the second, preferential loans from the government. We are incredibly excited to create a women's entrepreneurship fund,” the Chair of the Association said.
Ganbarova said that the increase in the number of social programs, and support for entrepreneurial initiatives contribute to this area. The Association of Rural Women of Azerbaijan has implemented many projects in this direction, meanwhile, international organizations also continue to support the construction of businesses by women. USAID, has helped 5,000 women in Azerbaijan build their own businesses. Thus, USAID provided agricultural equipment to women engaged in growing vegetables in the Beyukgeyushlu village of Barda. As a result, they produced 630 tons of various vegetable products and received a large profit from the sale of these products.
USAID promotes joint investments and the establishment of partnerships to strengthen the stability of the Azerbaijani economy and further improve the favourable business environment. The aim is to strengthen the competitiveness of the private sector in Azerbaijan (the special focus is on the development of agriculture and economic activity in rural areas) and the potential of business support services, as well as the removal of administrative barriers that hinder the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. USAID expands and creates new opportunities for women in business and in the workplace, and also stimulates women's economic activity by uniting women-led enterprises and professional associations.
The opinions expressed both in the WNBA and this article may not reflect the views of the US government or USAID.
