Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2024 brings a breath of fresh air to women entrepreneurs in Georgia

Tbilisi welcomed 140 women entrepreneurs to the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2024 satellite event.  For the third consecutive year, women from all over Georgia showcased their products to exhibition guests, including food and drinks, gifts, toys and accessories, handmade items and decor, beauty, and personal care products, New Year’s souvenirs, and other festive items.

Held on 22 - 23 November at the Expo Georgia centre, the event aimed to promote women’s entrepreneurship, share valuable knowledge, and help women to establish business connections and promising partnerships.

Supporting women entrepreneurs and women’s empowerment in general is one of the priorities of the Norwegian Government,” remarked Bergljot Hovland, the Norwegian Ambassador to Georgia, in her welcoming speech. “We believe that progress and stability in society can be achieved precisely through the empowerment of women,” concluded the ambassador.

Jemimah Njuki, Chief of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women, also addressed the entrepreneurs, highlighting their resilience and motivation. “You trusted us and came a long way to present your products to consumers. Share your needs and challenges with us. We will do our best to respond to these needs through our initiatives,” stated Ms. Njuki.

A novelty of this year’s event was a corner dedicated to green and sustainable businesses, featuring products that women create using waste materials, environmentally friendly resources, and innovative technologies. Guests could purchase items made by social enterprises and participate in masterclasses where they crafted New Year’s decorations using green technologies. The event also featured an entertainment and educational corner for children along with food and music spaces.

Notably, refugee women from Ukraine and other countries participated in the exhibition for the first time. “This event is a breath of fresh air for refugee women from Ukraine,” said Maya Fisyuk from Ukraine, who presented handmade items. “These two days of interacting with other entrepreneurs and exchanging experiences and success stories left a lasting impression on us. We felt great warmth and support. This was especially important for us,” confessed Ms. Fisyuk.

On 22 November, the eve of the exhibition, special masterclasses were organized for women entrepreneurs. Participants learned about the use of artificial intelligence in business, sustainable business practices, export opportunities in the European Union, and the advantages of e-commerce.

The event, part of a series of activities within the regional Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2024, was organized by UN Women in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Georgian Farmers’ Association, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and private sector companies such as TBC Bank, Selfie Mobile, Tegeta Holding, Crystal, SOCAR, BDO Georgia, Business and Technology University, and Expo Georgia.

The Women Entrepreneurship EXPO 2024 was held within the framework of the Women’s Economic Empowerment component of the UN Women project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia,” funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

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 2024 is organized by UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Yıldız Holding as part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator.