Tbilisi, September 21, 2022 – Visa launches the third wave of She’s Next, Empowered by Visa in Georgia and in partnership with Business Federation Women for Tomorrow announces a public business contest for women entrepreneurs in Georgia. Women entrepreneurs are invited to share their business ideas in the competition for free mentoring sessions and money prizes, namely the first-place winner will be awarded with 25 000 Gel and the second-place winner with 15 000.
The contest is conducted in the form of Visa elevator pitch under the She’s Next, Empowered by Visa global initiative in Georgia designed for women, who have interesting business ideas or already run their own personal business, hold the position of a CEO or representative of a small or medium-size business, or be the founder of a startup company.[1]
“I am proud, that Visa established the tradition in Georgia of continuing support of female SMBs within the global initiative She’s Next, Empowered by Visa. We are extremely happy to announce the third wave of the campaign and conduct the joint contest with w4t, aiming to empower women entrepreneurs in Georgia. Within the contest, we invite women, who lead startup, or have an interesting business idea, eager to learn pitching techniques for allocating solid money prizes. I strongly encourage each and every woman, aspiring to put down roots in the world of business, to take part in this promising initiative and become part of the She’s Next” - said Diana Kiguradze Visa Country Manager for the Caucasus region.
„It is an honor for Women for Tomorrow to be part of the global initiative - She’s Next empowered By Visa since 2020 and support women entrepreneurs to boost their business knowledge and expertise and achieve economic independence. We are proud, to launch the business contest in partnership with Visa and announce the call, where only women start-upers and entrepreneurs are able to register, present their business idea, advance in pitching and presentation skills and compete for the financial support aiming to increase their progress and development. We encourage every woman from all over Georgia to participate in the program, make an opportunity to challenge yourself to become a winner Wish you the best of luck! – noted Nina Kobakhidze Chair of the Board of the Business Federation Women for Tomorrow.
The competition will be held in three stages:
- Application process[2], an independent jury will first check if each application meets all eligibility criteria and will be followed by the selection of TOP 10 most successful and highly promising women entrepreneurs who will be granted to access free mentoring consulting sessions.
- Mentoring Sessions, the TOP 10 female SMEs will undertake two-day free consulting sessions, be assisted by the field experts to learn pitching techniques and create effective presentation to attract investments and develop their business.
- Visa Elevator Pitch Day and Award Ceremony, at the third and final stage of the competition, the TOP 10 candidates will be required to pitch a business idea (in the form of Elevator pitch) in 90 seconds in front of jury. 2 winners will be selected by a professional jury on the same day. The first-place winner will be awarded with 25 000 Gel and the second-place winner with 15 000 Gel.
Interested candidates should carefully read rules of the contest and complete the application form, include a letter of motivation in Georgian and submitted by the link it by 10 October 2022.
[1] The rules of the campaign are available on the link
[2] Only one application form and business idea per applicant will be accepted for the contest