To support Georgia on its journey to ultimate self-reliance, USAID’s YES-Georgia program works with aspiring businesswomen to help them take the entrepreneurial plunge. Over the last two years, USAID has been focusing on providing training in business skills development, mentorship, and legal and accounting services. The goal is to empower local women and nourish their business acumen by offering abundant opportunities designed to help.
Winemaking is just one example, although YES-Georgia covers other sectors too. Already, dozens of women have either started up family businesses or joined forces with other women to engage in wine tourism.
Sopio Samteladze and Shorena Pataridze successfully revived their family winemaking tradition. Sofia told GT: “Viticulture has long been a tradition in our family. With YES-Georgia’s help, I managed to bottle our family wine and offer it to other people. Today, we produce four types of wine: Khvanchkara, Tetra / Tkbili, Alexandrouli, and Tsulukidze Tetra. The project taught me how to plan a business properly, calculate the risks, and get it right.”
Mariam Merebashvili runs a successful winemaking business in Georgia’s charming Kartli region. Mariam told GT: “In recent years, we have revived our centuries-old cellar and created a space that is very popular with tourists. We produce typical Kartli wines, such as Chinuri, Goruli Mtsvane, and Tavkveri. Soon, we plan to cultivate a unique Shavkapito vineyard and launch an ethnic restaurant offering Kartlian and Ossetian cuisine.”
All these Georgian businesswomen take care of the vineyards all by themselves, produce various kinds of wine, from powerful reds to delicate whites, and make sure it reaches others too.
By 2024, USAID YES-Georgia aims to provide mentoring and networking opportunities to over 2,500 women entrepreneurs.
By Elene Dzebisashvili
