BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 21. Under the support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 200 women in Azerbaijan have already launched their own businesses, Michael Nehrbass, Mission Director for USAID in Azerbaijan, told Trend.
“As of today, we have already trained over 1,000 women in Azerbaijan,” he said.
According to the head of the mission, USAID funds the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to train women in running their own businesses.
“So, together with the UNDP and the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, we have established women resource centers in such regions of Azerbaijan as Masalli, Zagatala, Khachmaz and Sumgayit, and we also support other 6 centers in different locations,” he said.
As Nehrbass explained, those centers play multifaceted role.
“The idea is basically in women coming together to receive business development training, creating network and learning from each other. And, besides providing businesses development support to women, these centers also provide crucial assistance to the victims of domestic violence,” he said.
By improving the business environment for micro, small and medium enterprises, USAID is helping to start businesses that will help diversify and strengthen the non-oil economy in Azerbaijan, particularly women-owned businesses, the head of the mission added.
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