Today, August 24, in framework of Women’s Entrepreneurship Development program, the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia /RUEA/ and Orange Foundation launched the third and final stage of roundtable discussions on “Women entrepreneurs to develop stronger and more competitive business”. Female entrepreneurs representing small and medium-size businesses, such as marketing, diverse services, handicraft, trade, private employment agencies, etc. attended the first stage of discussions. Beginner female entrepreneurs having gained knowledge of tax legislation, marketing skills, written or unwritten rules of business through support of experts of different business domains participated in the second and third stages of discussions.

“When taking the first steps in business beginner entrepreneurs always face problems relating to organization of PR or advertising campaigns, marketing and market orientation policy. For many business women this area of business is yet undiscovered and uninvestigated,” Gagik Makaryan, President of the RUEA said.

“We wish to support small and medium-size business actors and help them act and feel confident in taking the first steps in their business that requires diverse knowledge and skills. The role of small and medium-size businesses is of great importance and engagement of women in this domain is a big asset in sustainable development of Armenia,” Nazareth Seferian, General Secretary of Orange Foundation said.

According to the statistics of 2010, the number of female employees totals 540.4 thousand in Armenia, with 69.2% of them engaged in private sector (mostly in agriculture and processing industry), 27.8% - in state sector (education, health, social services) as well as in community and public sectors. 27.5% of business women are private entrepreneurs and only 0.001% are employers, Orange Foundation’s press service reported.