On March 29th, 2024, Gazelle Finance, the leading private equity fund investing in high-growth SMEs in the South Caucasus region, with the support of the USAID Business Development service program and in partnership with USAID Economic Governance program, in collaboration with the Women for Tomorrow and Women Business Council in Georgia convened Women in Business and Policy Conference. The event explored innovative strategies to overcome the challenges impeding women's full participation in the economy and offered a unique opportunity for participants to learn and be inspired by successful female leaders as well as discussed women’s perspectives on Georgia’s major achievement—EU candidacy status.
The conference, which included panel discussions and was launched with welcoming remarks from Nino Tsilosani, Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia; John A. Pennell, the USAID Mission Director; Khatuna Totladze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia; Meline Arakelian, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Georgia and Alkis Vryenios Drakinos, Regional Head of the Caucasus for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
This conference also marked a significant collaboration between USAID Business Development Service Program and Gazelle Finance, underscoring the importance of fostering relationships that lead to tangible positive impacts.
Quote from Natia Janelidze – CIO/CEO of Gazelle Finance: “Over the years, the partnership the USAID has been instrumental in creating numerous job opportunities, elevating service quality among companies, expanding market access, and enhancing financial reporting to Western standards. As a result of our cooperation, investments facilitated in target sectors amounted to $10 million. The change in sales for firms receiving assistance increased by 62%, and the full-time equivalent employment of firms receiving assistance reached 1681, with 70% of them being women and 43% being young participants. Additionally, 14% of the funded companies are women-owned, and the percentage of women on the board of directors amounts to 29%.”
Quote from John A. Pennell – USAID Mission Director: “USAID assistance is based on clear evidence that societies with higher levels of gender equality are more secure, more prosperous, and their citizens enjoy higher standards of living. This event was an opportunity for government and parliament officials, the private sector, business associations, and donor organizations to come together and discuss tangible ways to advance gender equality. We also celebrated USAID’s partnership with Gazelle Finance, which brought in $10 million in new investment in Georgian businesses, including women-owned businesses.”
Panel 1 was dedicated to Women's Perspective on European Integration and celebrated the EU Candidacy Status for Georgia, moderated by Natalia Beruashvili, The USAID Economic Governance Program Chief of Party. Maka Bochorishvili - Member of the parliament, the chairwoman of the European Integration Committee, Natalia Voutova - Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Kaori Ishikawa - UN Women representative in Georgia, Nina Kobakhidze - Chair of the supervisory board of the Business Federation Women for Tomorrow and Natia Meparishvili - Chairwoman at Women Business Council in Georgia were speakers of the panel, where they shared their insights on the topic and contributed to the dialogue on advancing equality and economic opportunities.
Panel 2 was divided into two parts; the first part was dedicated to Women’s access to Finance and the second one to Gender lens investing. The panel was moderated by Natia Janelidze - CEO/CIO of Gazelle Finance. Nino Masurashvili – Deputy CEO, chief Ris officer at TBC Bank, Giorgi Danelia – Director at BOG Asset Management, Irakli Gabriadze – Deputy Director at Enterprise Georgia, Salome Napetvaridze –Head of Innovation Community Development Department at GITA, Severian Gvinepadze – Regional Principal Manager at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and George Janssen were speaker of the session, discussing challenges and solutions of the access to finance barriers. The second part of the panel was dedicated to Gender lens investing. Mariana Vasquez del Mercado Castro – Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Integration director at Tetra Tech, Diana Kiguradze – Visa Regional Manager, Keti Kvarskhava – Managing director of BLC Law Office, Mariam Koyava – Executive Director, Growth and Expansion at SavvY and Nino Kapanadze – Founder and CEO of Fruit Logistic were the speakers of the panel, discussing what exactly is gender lens investing and how can impact of gender lens investing and initiatives be measured.
After the panel discussion, Gazelle Finance presented the Leadership Excellence award to Irma Khetsuriani, a legendary woman who is a World and Europe champion as well as Georgia’s most prominent Para-athlete. Khetsuriani leads the world rankings in the women’s saber category B and is the first wheelchair fencer in Georgia, having competed in all three fencing disciplines of épée, sabre, and foil.
After the event, attendees had the opportunity to engage in networking activities.
With over 200 participants from the government, civil society, private sector, business sector, and diplomatic corps attending, this conference was the country’s largest event focused on strengthening women’s leadership in the policymaking process and business development. The conference served as a platform for discussing and promoting gender equality and the gender pay gap and will facilitate women’s active participation in shaping economic policies.
About USAID in Georgia: USAID first opened its doors in Georgia in 1992. In total, USAID has invested approximately $1.9 billion in programs to help Georgia to build effective and accountable public institutions; improved education, healthcare, and other public services; an economy that creates jobs and prosperity for workers, families, and communities across the country; and democratic processes that put citizens at the center. USAID currently invests in 40 development programs that support Georgia in a number of key areas – economic growth, energy security, education, democratic governance, and many others – all of which are aligned with Georgia’s domestic priorities to strengthen its security, prosperity, and democracy and to continue advancing toward Europe. For more information, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/georgia.
About Gazelle Finance: Gazelle Finance is a financing company, that invests in high-growth, small and medium-sized enterprising in the Eurasia Region, with current focus on Georgia and Armenia. Its mission is to create a better financial future for capable entrepreneurs and the communities they serve. The company seeks to identify gaps and barriers in the capital market and provide a financing solution to responsible entrepreneurs, who are carefully selected. By focusing on growing their businesses, Gazelle Finance helps local markets and economies to expand. For more information, please visit: https://gazellefinance.com/
About the USAID Economic Governance Program: The USAID Economic Governance Program is a five-year, up to $19 million project funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP. The Program aims to improve economic governance and leadership in Georgia by supporting development of a system that will enforce consistent and cost-effective economic policies, laws, and regulations to promote economic growth by including the voices, needs, and aspirations of all Georgians. https://www.facebook.com/USAIDEconomicGovernanceProgram
About the USAID Economic Governance Program: USAID’s Business Development Service Program helps SMEs strengthen their ability to attract future private sector investment through improved business planning, financial management and reporting, and marketing. USAID partners with Gazelle Finance to support beneficiary SMEs through a combination of zero-interest loans, grants, and direct technical assistance from Gazelle Finance. USAID and Gazelle Finance will create 400 new full-time jobs and leverage more than $15 million in private equity capital.
