USAID talks about current projects to support women's entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 4 By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend: The studies were conducted with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on economic empowerment for entrepreneurship and employment among women and youth in rural areas of Azerbaijan, USAID representative office in Azerbaijan told Trend. “The three Women’s Resource Centers we support with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Affairs in Masalli, Zaqatala and Khachmaz have helped 98 women open their businesses,” USAID said. “Our funding to Entrepreneurship Development Foundation to implement the Micro-Enterprise Support Project has helped open over 60 women-owned businesses and provided entrepreneurship and business plan development workshops to over 400 women across the country,” USAID added. “This project has also been doing important advocacy work with civil society, the private sector and government partners to support improving the business and employment environment for women and has made important strides towards breaking traditional barriers for women in Azerbaijan,” USAID said. USAID works with the International Organization for Migration, in collaboration with the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to support the work of the Clean World Women’s Shelter and Azerbaijan Children’s Union Shelter in Baku, and TAMAS Regional Development Public Union shelter in Ganja, as well as the Victim Assistant Centers under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. USAID has allocated more than $377 million to the US since 1991 as humanitarian aid to support the health sector, as well as economic and democratic reforms in the country. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @jafarov_zeyni