BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 29. Visa will continue to implement important projects to support women's entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, Vice President and Regional Manager of Visa in Central Asia and Azerbaijan Cristina Doros told Trend.
On measures to support women in business, Cristina Dorosh emphasized the She's Next, Empowered by Visa global initiative to support women's entrepreneurship, launched in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in 2019.
"According to the findings of the initiative's first wave, there was a lot of interest from women entrepreneurs in Central Asia—over 2,500 women engaged in educational webinars. As a result, we've already launched the second wave of the She's Next, Empowered by Visa program in Kazakhstan and Central Asia in 2022, with the slogan "Successful business is balance!" she said.
According to the regional manager, more than 6,000 Central Asian businesswomen participated in the second wave of the initiative.
"The women entrepreneurs attended a series of instructional seminars from renowned experts on topics such as effective business, time management, and establishing a work-life balance. The marathon saw fifteen businesswomen compete, with three winners receiving funding to help them grow their own businesses, said Cristina Doros.
She mentioned that one of the important achievements of She's Next, Empowered by Visa in 2022 was the creation and release of the world's first co-branded card, She's Next, Empowered by Visa, together with the partner of the second wave of the initiative, Halyk Bank (a Kazakh commercial savings bank). According to her, the card has a unique design with the She's Next, Empowered by Visa logo, as well as special privileges available only to the participants of the second wave of the initiative.
"To develop and expand cooperation in the field of digitalization of the economy, increase the digital potential of entrepreneurs, and support women's entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, Visa signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of women's entrepreneurship with the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan (ASMAR). Within the framework of the signed memorandum, we plan to implement important projects in a range of areas, including accelerating digital transformation and improving digital and financial literacy," Doros added.