Ana Darbaidze`s Success Story

“I think the family is strong when the woman is empowered. A smart woman will achieve a lot in her life”.

Ana Darbaidze lives with her husband and young child in the village of Tchiauri in Lagodekhi municipality.  She is an active woman, always oriented on the development and well-being of her family. According to Ana, as there is no sewing salon in Tchiauri and its nearby villages the locals have to go to Lagodekhi for tailor service. That is why Ana came up with the idea to open a sewing enterprise in Tchiauri and set up her own business. To do this, Ana needed some financial resources which unfortunately she didn`t have.

Providentially, Ana found out about the Women`s Economic Empowerment project supported by UN Women which helped her to start the sewing business with her mother and two women living in her neighborhood. The space for the initiative Ana got from her parents and the women renovated it with their own resources. The inventory was purchased under the grant provided by the project. For the common business to be successful, the women have redistributed the functions - Anna helps the partners in the accounting and administrative tasks, while the others are engaged in cutting and sewing. The environment in their enterprise is very positive. The women entrepreneurs have already received the orders from Tchiauri community.

Ana together with her partners is oriented on the development of the sewing salon and on the improvement of its service. For now, the women sew the linen and tablecloths but in future, they want to create the clothes and sell them in different stores.

Furthermore, for Ana, the woman`s role in the family is very important. “There are many things depending on the woman. I think a woman should always use the opportunity given to her and be independent”. Therefore Ana is very happy that projects are being implemented in the regions of Georgia that support women`s economic empowerment.

The project “Women`s Economic Empowerment through Social Mobilization and Capacity Building” is funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), implemented by Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF), Taso Foundation (TF), and CARE Caucasus (CARE).