First large-scale exhibition and sale of products and services made by women entrepreneurs held in Georgia

UN Women Georgia hosted the first large-scale exhibition and sale of products and services made by women entrepreneurs on 1-2 October at the Expo Georgia Exhibition Center in Tbilisi. During the two-day event, about 100 participants from all over the country had the opportunity to present their products to the attendees, sell them on the spot and establish connections with potential customers.

The exhibition was hosted as a satellite event of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo 2022, organized by UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

Opened by the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, the event saw the participation of educational institutions, international organizations and the private sector. Speaking about the importance of women’s participation in the socioeconomic and business development of the country, Ms. Zourabichvili expressed her support to women’s entrepreneurship: “I want to tell you that at any time, in any format, the president and her administration are and will be by your side.”

H.E. Sand Andresen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia said, “Achieving gender equality is very important because it allows women to contribute more to public life. The empowerment of women is aimed both at their well-being and at a more sustainable, stable development of the country’s economy.”

At the event, UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Alia El-Yassir, thanked the Government of Georgia, the Government of Norway, partners and women entrepreneurs, noting: “Cooperation is the basis 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 masterclasses for women entrepreneurs, along with the exhibition and a sales area.

“I am happy to be taking part in this exhibition today,” said the founder of “Otanadze Design”, Teona Otanadze, who creates handmade, eco-friendly wooden accessories. “I think such large-scale events are very important because they give us women the opportunity to show our abilities and talents.”

The event was supported by the programme “Entreprise Georgia”, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business and Technology University, TBC Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) within the framework of the programme for women entrepreneurs supported by the Government of Sweden.

The Expo satellite event in Georgia was organized in the lead up to the Regional Women’s Entrepreneurship Expo to be held virtually on 16 – 17 November.

Launched in 2021, the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO is a unique partnership platform to promote women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem building in the Europe and Central Asia region. EXPO provides an interactive space for women entrepreneurs, investors and private sector representatives for networking and collaboration, peer learning, ideas generation, capacity building and business development. EXPO 2022 is organized by UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Yıldız Holding as part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator supported by Mary Kay. Learn more and register.