February 6, 2023

Setting the stage for greater private sector-led approaches to workforce skills development
Life has changed for Ana Zarandia, a 22-year-old from Jikhashkari village in Zugdidi municipality. After graduating from the Construction Faculty of Georgian Technical University, she could not find work in her field. After completing a vocational training program at Construct2 College in Zestaponi, however, her fortunes improved. Now a well-paid steel…

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February 29, 2016

Businesswomen Learn to Get “Real”
By Carrol McCarren 

Photo: World Bank/Flickr

Women entrepreneurs are often motivated by different factors than men when they create a business. For many women, the decision to start a business venture is borne out of financial need, rather than a consciously chosen career path. Without enough income to support the family, a woman might begin by sewing clothes, growing tomatoes, or selling…

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April 30, 2015

My assignment was to provide assistance to business associations in order to help them develop advocacy skills as part of IESC’s Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Support Project in the Republic of Georgia.  I met with the officials in Tbilisi and then went to the regions outside the capital.

Volunteer Jeff Rogo (left), translator Maya Kharebashvili, and Zugdidi Chamber President Yuri Tsotseria

Before my arrival, Mr….

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