Estonian Refugee Council launches third Empowering Women entrepreneurship program
The Estonian Refugee Council, Garage48, and Swedbank are inviting women living in Estonia to participate in their third "Empowering Women" entrepreneurship program. The program helps participants start or develop their micro-businesses as well as supporting the independent and long-term self-sufficiency of women.
The "Empowering Women" program is set to begin for the third time on October 19. "The program's past successes have inspired us to significantly expand it," said Kadri Tiisvelt, program lead at Garage48.
"This season, we are open to women from across Estonia, offering an eight-month business incubation program. While we have tailored the program for this larger participant group, we remain committed to the original goal – to empower women who wish to start businesses in environments that present more challenges and fewer opportunities. In Estonia, these are primarily areas outside of major cities, so we especially welcome women who want to create businesses and develop their local communities in rural regions," Tiisvelt added.
According to Grete Karelsohn, livelihood program specialist at the Estonian Refugee Council, previous seasons of the "Empowering Women" program have been successful in helping refugees in Estonia achieve self-reliance, while also contributing to the local economy.
"We want to continue supporting women with refugee backgrounds by providing opportunities to start their own businesses and enter the local labor market," Karelsohn said.
This year the program is open to both refugee women and local entrepreneurial women, offering participants the chance to learn from each other's diverse experiences and worldviews, Karelsohn added.
The program's third season runs until March 2025 and is in both Estonian and Russian languages.
It begins with the "Idea Garage" on 19 October and is open to anyone considering entrepreneurship, looking to better define their business idea, or wanting to discover a new idea and team to join. The following stages include a business model hackathon and an incubation program.
Previous seasons of "Empowering Women" have helped with the launch of approximately 13 new businesses, creating jobs for nearly 30 people. More information about the most recent edition of the program, including how to apply to be involved, can be found here and here. The program is also being implemented in Ukraine to support women starting businesses there.
The "Empowering Women" entrepreneurship program is organized by the Estonian Refugee Council, Garage48, and Swedbank, with partners EENA and OBJEKT.
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Editor: Michael Cole
