National Contest Farah – 2012 to find the best women entrepreneur of the year is launched in Tajikistan

“Farah-2012 – the National Contest to find the best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year” initiated by the National Association of Business Women of Tajikistan (NABWT) was launched today at the round table in Dushanbe. The contest will be held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan, Committee of Women and Family Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan, Committee on Investments and State Property Management of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, UN Women and with financial support of LLC Microlending Organization “Imon International.” Similar round tables will be held in different parts of the country to explain the goals and objectives of the contest and encourage more women to apply and participate at the competition.

The main purpose of the competition is to strengthen the image of women, support and development of small and medium-sized businesses, replication of the existing experiences in women entrepreneurship, draw public attention to women's entrepreneurship and improve its quality, enabling businesses to demonstrate their ability, to identify women entrepreneurs on six nominations and to find the bright woman entrepreneur of the year. The organizers of the event aim to highlight the important women’s role in Tajik society and generate positive public attitude towards women entrepreneurship. The contest will connect women entrepreneurs from all the country celebrating their achievements and provide the best models of women entrepreneurship in Tajikistan. “We want to gather Tajik women entrepreneurs and share their success stories with other women who think to start their own businesses. There are many negative stories around women involved in business and their failures. We plan to prove that there are also many other successful women who run their business successfully on equal terms with men,” said Gulbahor Mahkamova, the Director of NABWT.

The competition is open to all women entrepreneurs aged over 21 years residing in the territory of Tajikistan engaged in small and medium-sized businesses, manufacturing, food, crafts, agriculture, medical and educational services, healthy lifestyles, and women's projects or initiatives. The main selection criterions are:

• Personal qualities;
• Goodwill;
• Social activities;
• Organizational, management skills and level of thinking;
• Ability to create / work in a team;
• The ability to generate new ideas;
• Adaptability and ability to match the latest trends and requirements;
• Prompt response to changing market conditions;
• Social responsibility - an indicator that determines the importance of business (entrepreneur) for a city or region; existence of support programs for the disabled and the poor (the presence of discounts, concessions for this population, etc.), participation in volunteer programs;
• The dynamics of economic and financial indicators;
• The level of presentation material - assessment of the submitted materials in terms of their relevance, quality, performance, presentation materials.

An additional special prize will be awarded for best female project / initiative.

The selection committee comprising from experts will select winners on each nomination after individual interviews with nominees. Out of six winners of the business – categories, only one woman will be chosen as the finalist of Farah-2012 "Women - the Entrepreneur of the Year" in the final event. Winners will be awarded with diplomas and valuable prizes. The main information campaign will start on 1st May 2012 and the application process will run until 15th May 2012. It is planned that 50 semi-finalists will be announced after 30th June 2012 with whom the contest’s organizational committee will work throughout July and August 2012. The awarding ceremony of the winner of “Farah -2012” will be held in early September 2012.

List of documents required for participation in the contest and additional information with contact persons addresses are available at NABWT website: www.nabwt.tj

Please see the calendar of the upcoming events:
In English (1076.9 kB)
In Russian (445.4 kB)

For more inquiries, the following people may be contacted:

Gulbakhor Makhkamova at: [ Click to reveal ]
Sanavbar Sharipova at: [ Click to reveal ]
Saodat Giysoava at: [ Click to reveal ]

Muhabbat Yakubova
UN Women Communication Specialist
E-mail: [ Click to reveal ]