ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 12. Visa and Halyk Bank are launching the third wave of the global initiative She’s Next, Empowered by Visa in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
According to Visa, the project is aimed at supporting and developing women's entrepreneurship.
She’s Next was also supported by the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan ("ASMAR") and the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan. This year, the program was developed with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs from different regions of Kazakhstan.
Women who already own or have just decided to open their own business will be able to participate in the initiative. They will be able to apply on the official She’s Next website.
To note, the first wave of the initiative took place in 2021, bringing together more than 2,500 entrepreneurs from five Central Asian countries. Almost 7,000 entrepreneurs registered for the second wave of the initiative in 2022, three of whom received grants to develop their own businesses. All participants who completed the Business Leadership Marathon as part of the second wave of the initiative had the opportunity to receive preferential loans from 5 percent per annum for business development from Halyk Bank.
Meanwhile, according to the results of a study conducted by Visa and Emerging Europe at the end of 2022, women in Kazakhstan strive to develop their own businesses in the online space, as well as to master new skills, including digital marketing and social media management (37 percent), crowdfunding (47 percent), e-commerce (24 percent), and international business expansion (21 percent).