3 Winners Announced in She’s Next Empowered by Visa Pitch Contest for Women Business Ideas

Tbilisi, January 26, 2024 - The 4th wave of She’s Next Empowered by Visa in Georgia has unveiled 3 winners among the top 10 participants in the Pitch Contest for Women Business Ideas.

The independent 5-member jury, comprised of field-leading professionals, determined the winners, with each awardee receiving a monetary prize of 10,000 GEL for the implementation of their business ideas. Furthermore, winners will be granted a mentoring session to support the effective kickstart of their businesses.

She’s Next Empowered by Visa in Georgia is dedicated to empowering and uplifting local women entrepreneurs by offering diverse resources, including funding opportunities, to help them initiate, develop, and scale their businesses.

The authors of the prize-winning business ideas are as follows:

1. Anna Gigashvili – Startup “Zest” - an application about productivity for smartphone and smartwatch platforms

2. Mariam Labakhua – “Cats and Dogs” - A web platform connecting pet owners with caregivers

3. Nino Nutsubidze – “Rebooked” - Online booking platform for cafes, bars, and restaurants

Carried out in collaboration with Visa, the Business Federation 'Women for Tomorrow,' and the USAID Economic Security Program, the contest aims to support and encourage women in Georgia to explore new business opportunities and set up their own ventures.

Prior to the pitching day, the selected top 10 participants engaged in a comprehensive five-day training and consulting program guided by industry experts in branding, digital technologies, bank products, sales, marketing, communication, and investment.

Rolled out as part of the global She’s Next Empowered by Visa initiative, the contest was introduced in partnership with the Business Federation 'Women for Tomorrow,' along with support from the USAID Economic Security Program. Participants were chosen per pre-established criteria and rules.

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at visa.com.ge

About USAID in Georgia

USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. Over 30 years of partnership with Georgia, USAID has supported the country’s transformation into a developing democracy that is increasingly integrated into Western political, security, and economic institutions. For more information, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/georgia.

About USAID Economic Security Program

The USAID Economic Security Program is a five-year, $23 million program funded by USAID and implemented by DAI Global. The Program accelerates broad-based growth of sectors - outside of agriculture - that demonstrate a strong potential to create jobs, generate investment and increase micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) revenues. https://www.facebook.com/EconSecProgram

About Women for Tomorrow

Business association „Women for Tomorrow“ strives to strengthen the role of women in the process of formulating and carrying out a policy of economic development by creating an empowering network of women business leaders and employing the synergy of a collaboration of its members. The Federation contributes to fostering business startups, connects women business leaders according to their interests and assists participation in international business exhibitions and other events. Women for Tomorrow creates a wide and efficient union, which consists of all successful female business leaders, entrepreneurs, senior managers and companies that federation actively mediates between public agencies and other representative bodies. https://w4t.ge/

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