"Good Governance for Gender Equality" in Georgia – BDO UN Women Project Publishes Interim Results

As part of the project, female entrepreneurs working with the program’s implementing partners, the Georgian Farmers' Association and the Taso Foundation, received training courses and personalized coaching from BDO Academy and BDO’s business advisory team in various aspects of business development. Specifically, by the end of the project, BDO’s team will conduct organizational activities, advisory meetings, and training sessions for nearly 200 selected female small entrepreneurs from all regions of Georgia on the following topics:

• Product development and management
• Business plan creation
• Effective communication and presentation skills
• Marketing and sales fundamentals
• Financial reporting components
• Business structures and types of taxation.

Under the project, 95 out of 100 women selected by the Georgian Farmers' Association have completed training with BDO Academy, and 65 of them have developed and presented their business plans. BDO’s business consulting team has provided consultations and personalized coaching to refine these plans. Meanwhile, under the Taso Foundation component, 100 beginner female entrepreneurs will undergo training by the project’s completion.

After completing the lecture series, 80 women participated in a grant competition announced by the Georgian Farmers' Association, and 36 received grants. Additionally, in 2022, 143 women applied for the Taso Foundation’s competition to support women’s income-generating activities, with 58 projects receiving funding.

UN Women has been operating in Georgia since 2001, working at the levels of policy legislation, institutions, and the broader society to achieve tangible results in gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

The project’s partners also include:

• The Taso Foundation, a national women’s fund that empowers vulnerable women through social mobilization methodologies
• The Georgian Farmers’ Association, which aims to strengthen female farmers’ capabilities under the project.

BDO is a signatory of UN Women and the UN Global Compact’s joint initiative on gender equality and women’s empowerment, reaffirming its commitment to supporting women’s advancement in the workplace, the market, and society.

For our team, this project is an excellent opportunity to share BDO’s diverse expertise and knowledge with female entrepreneurs to help them strengthen their economic independence.

BDO Georgia remains dedicated to integrating sustainable development principles into its business model and advocating for women’s empowerment across all available platforms.