Refugee Women Empowerment in Armenia
Since the 2020 war with Azerbaijan, claiming over 4000 lives and leaving several thousand soldiers disabled, Armenia has been struggling to recover from the cascade of misfortunes that have befallen it. Subsequent military incursions on its borders with hundreds of additional casualties and an exodus of more than 150,000 Armenian people from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), escaping ethnic cleansing, overwhelmingly strained the humanitarian crisis in the country.
While things were still in the stabilization phase, the arrival of new refugees urged our partner, AF4SD, to expand its outreach to refugee and forcibly displaced women through the "Refugee Women Empowerment" program.
Training and Capacity Building
After the launch of the program, Arev Society and AF4SD conducted intensive training workshops focused on:
- Business plan development
- Fundamental accounting principles
- Entrepreneurial skill-building
- Strategic business thinking
Structured Program Approach
Our support extends beyond theoretical knowledge. The program follows a structured approach:
- Participants develop and submit business proposals
- A joint Funding Committee evaluates each submission
- Selected projects receive grants through in-kind contributions
- On-site assessments ensure project viability
- Ongoing mentorship supports long-term success
- Developed sustainable business models within local communities
In addition to IGA creation, refugee women participated in digital, financial, and AI literacy courses and acquired skills through a vocational training program organized by partners.
Our Commitment to Sustainable Development
Together with AF4SD, we aim to create even more opportunities for women to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities. We remain committed to expanding this vital program and supporting more women on their journey to economic empowerment, directly contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), which emphasize that "achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is not just the right thing to do, it's essential for sustainable development."