Women Entrepreneurs Prevent Dangerous Migration

The second and third quarters are the busiest part of the year for the HERA Team.  In April, we announced our annual competition.  This year HERA received 159 applications.  HERA's target objective is to fund 50-60 applications.  Seven reviewers representing the HERA French Association and HERA USA reviewed the applications in July.  Sixty-four applicants made our top tier.  Receipt of a HERA grant results from a very competitive process; applicants have approximately a one in three chance of success. 

Armenia

In September, a HERA team consisting of Yuliya Etingen, Anna Hovhannisyan (our local coordinator), Nico Nissen, and Dennis Long visited Armenia and travelled across the country from August 30th to September 9th.  The political situation in Armenia remains tense.  One of our stops was Jermuk, famous for its water and ski resort.  The week after the team visited, fighting broke out, and Azerbaijan bombed Jermuk.  Two days later, a ceasefire went into effect, but the fighting left 175 dead on both sides and only accentuated Armenia's vulnerability.  The previous 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh ended with Russia taking on the role of peacekeeper, although minor skirmishes are constant.  During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Ukraine supported Azerbaijan.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appealed, in vain, for Russia to enforce the ceasefire and has threatened to leave Moscow's military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization.  But, Russia remains one of Armenia's largest trading partners.  So, while most Armenians are against war in general, they are concerned that if the war in Ukraine worsens for Russia, they will withdraw their troops from Armenia.  If this was to happen, then Azerbaijan might move to claim Syunik province in eastern Armenia.  Nakhchivan province is a land-locked region of Azerbaijan, surrounded by Iran and Armenia, and is the ancestral home of their president.  Azerbaijan has argued for its country's contiguous integrity and thus, wants a land corridor to Nakhchivan province.  The Syunik province of Armenia is mountainous and includes Kapan, a large mining town.  Having lost land in Nagorno-Karabakh in the recent war, Armenia cannot afford to lose more territory.  With the world focused on Ukraine, conflicts in other former Soviet states go largely unnoticed, for example, the recent border conflict between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.  In such times, HERA's continued presence in Armenia is appreciated.

During its 10-day site visit, the HERA team visited 28 ventures, funded 14 new ventures and three second-year ventures, and conducted six evaluations while rejecting five.  To extend our funding and to ensure the entrepreneur's commitment, we asked for cost sharing, resulting in 32% cost sharing across the 17 ventures.  The one social enterprise was not asked to contribute, but all private businesses did.  Our encouragment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) ventures yielded two videography/marketing firms.  There were sewing ventures, schools, food processing, and various other ventures.  The HERA team wishes to express appreciation to the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).  AGBU runs an excellent women's entrepreneurship training program, AGBU WE, with which we collaborate. Of the 80 HERA applicants from Armenia in 2022, 28 were AGBU graduates (35%), including eight of the 17 (47%) new ventures.

One example of a venture funded this year is the Nairian Travel Agency of Yerevan.  Ani, the owner and founder (see photo above), has always been passionate about travel.  Together with two partners in 2019, she started the Nairian Travel Agency.  Her partners only provide funds; they are not directly involved in the day-to-day management of the agency.  Ani has two full-time women employees, 23 and 28 years old.  Ani was able to keep going at a much-reduced level during the COVID pandemic.  She mainly arranges tours to Russia and charter flights to Morocco, a popular destination for Armenians.  Ani's dream is to start a charter airline.  Last year, Nairian generated about EUR 10,000.  Ani plans to employ two additional young women.  For their workstations, she required two more computers.  HERA provided her with a grant to buy the first computer, while Ani purchased the second.

Moldova

Moldova faces a different situation.  The current Government looks towards Europe, but a significant minority of the population speaks Russian as their primary language.  Transnistria, a separatist region, remains pro-Russian and has a large Russian military base.  The Russian Government has mentioned its desire to liberate Transnistria after Odessa, but for now, Russia is losing ground in Southern Ukraine. Nevertheless, Chisinau is only a 40-minute drive from Transnistria, and the Romanian border is only two hours away.  Moldova lacks a large standing army and could be overrun in two to three hours.  Local friends mentioned that they had a bag packed.  Should Russia overtake Odessa and move into Transnistria, many Moldovans would immediately leave for Romania and elsewhere in Europe.  Moldova has opened its borders to a half million Ukraine refugees, of which 80,000 have chosen to stay.

Given a tense situation, there were only 16 applications from Moldova this year, partly reflecting ongoing concerns with the war in Ukraine and partly, the result of an injury to our leading partner in Southern Moldova.  As a result, the HERA team consisted of two people: Dennis Long and Cata Adam, our Moldovan coordinator.  For the last two days, a prospective donor also joined the assessment, which took place between September 18 and 25.  The team made 11 grants across the country.  As a reflection of the precarious situation in Moldova, one prospective grantee withdrew her application for an after-school English program and immigrated to Germany.  In addition, the founder of one of last year's firms that we planned to evaluate had already immigrated to Germany with her husband for his IT work.  She had transferred the company to her partner and was setting up an online platform in Germany. 

One example of a HERA Grantee funded this year in Moldova is a young mother who, with her husband, has a bee apiary of 120 hives (see photo below).  While most honey producers HERA has funded focus on honey production, Vitalia takes it a step further; she processes creamed honey with various flavors: ginger, chocolate, berry, etc.  There is nothing similar on the market.  She was taking her honey to another producer and paid for the cream process.  HERA provided her with the equipment to cream her own honey. 

Ukraine and Georgia

Due to the ongoing war with Russia HERA is not planning an assessment in Ukraine this year.  However, our competition was open to women in Ukraine and to refugees in Europe who had already received one or two grants. Young Ukrainian women need assistance to maintain their businesses in Ukraine or restart in Europe.  Assessments are being conducted online through Maryana Syniushko, our local coordinator in Kiev.  In Ukraine, Maryana and members of HERA USA expect to fund five to seven ventures that are still operating and providing goods and/or services.  We have also supported Ukrainians in Europe -- one to restart her business in Belgium and others to resettle and/or find employment.  Once the war ends, there will be a huge need to rebuild.  While HERA's resources are limited, many of the women we fund are below the radar of international agencies and banks. 

The final field assessment this year will take place in Georgia during the first ten days in November, with a team consisting of Giorgi Tvialashvili, Sonia Boubekri, and Lynellyn Long.  HERA will report on the final results of Georgia and the Ukraine assessments in our next report.  

Evaluation Results

In 2021 HERA commissioned two long-term, independent evaluations, for Georgia and Moldova, of past performance in each country going back to the start of the HERA program. Both studies showed positive long-term results, with many ventures still in operation and young women employed although the COVID pandemic slowed the intended growth for most firms in both countries. Both studies are available on request.

HERA's work is highly valued and appreciated and significantly contributed to women's economic empowerment.  The women we fund represent the economic base of the pyramid, employ vulnerable young women, produce and sell critical goods and services in local and national markets and increasingly, are exporting internationally.  Many are digitalising their marketing, sales, and operations.  Most are not in a situation to take on a loan.  A grant from HERA to purchase a critical piece of equipment has often been a catalyst for growth, as we discovered through the two long-term evaluations.   

The HERA team is always glad to receive any questions or suggestions. Giving Tuesday offers an opportunity to leverage your HERA contribution with GlobalGiving's matching funds and to convey your own priorities and reasons for supporting our work.  Meanwhile we are very grateful and wish to thank all our donors for your continued support.