Women’s entrepreneurial environment in Armenia: problems and opportunities

On April 15, 2026, representatives of the public and private sectors, civil society, and women entrepreneurs gathered on one platform in Yerevan to discuss how to make the entrepreneurial environment for women in Armenia stronger and more inclusive.

The public-private dialogue, titled “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Women’s Economic Empowerment,” was held within the framework of the Women’s Economic Security Program “Her Power, Her Future,” funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by the CARE Caucasus organization.

The discussion was moderated by the WINNET Armenia Network of Women’s Resource Centers, ensuring an open, inclusive, and substantive exchange of ideas.

“CARE Caucasus unites and empowers women across the Caucasus region by expanding economic opportunities, fostering collaborative networks, and promoting cross-border cooperation. 

Women are often advised to combine their skills, present their projects more confidently, and strengthen their technical capacities to succeed in business. However, data collected over the past five years in four regions of Armenia within the framework of the ‘Her Power, Her Future’ initiative tells a different story. Women are already significant and influential contributors to the economy, and the core issue is not a lack of skills, but an ecosystem that constrains their advancement. These challenges are largely systemic, including unequal access to capital, limited networking opportunities, and the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work borne by women,” said Nino Bolkvadze, Executive Director of CARE Caucasus, in her opening remarks.

According to her, CARE Caucasus is working to reassess and improve the pathways through which women achieve success:

“Women’s empowerment is not only a moral issue, but also a strategic imperative of our time. When women succeed, they contribute to their families, communities, and the broader economy, fostering greater resilience. Ensuring women’s sustainable economic participation requires effective legislation, innovative solutions, and, importantly, stronger public-private partnerships.”

She also emphasized that the organization’s activities in Armenia are aimed at fostering an environment that promotes dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration. 

“By integrating technology, finance, and the creative potential of civil society, we aim to build a supportive, safe, and economically viable environment for women-led businesses. By empowering women entrepreneurs, we not only contribute to the growth of their businesses, but also to the creation of a more sustainable and inclusive future that benefits everyone,” she noted. 

According to Ruzanna Torozyan, President of the WINNET Armenia Network of Women Resource Centers, the dialogue marked an important step toward strengthening the link between institutions and communities in order to more effectively support women entrepreneurs in Armenia.

“Strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem means ensuring that women have access not only to resources, but also to networks and platforms that foster growth,” she noted.

David Barseghyan, Head of the Entrepreneurship Department at the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, also emphasized that supporting women’s entrepreneurship is a key priority of the government’s economic policy: “The Government of Armenia is consistently working to build an inclusive and competitive business environment, which remains one of the central pillars of the country’s economic policy. This approach is also reflected in the draft ‘SME Competitiveness Strategy 2026-2030’ developed by the Ministry of Economy of Armenia.

Empowering women entrepreneurs is a central priority of our economic agenda. To this end, we are continuously expanding support mechanisms, development opportunities, and access to essential resources to ensure that women-led businesses grow, strengthen their market positions, and enhance their competitiveness. Our goal is to fully unlock the economic potential of women, enabling them to become one of the key drivers of Armenia’s economic transformation and inclusive growth.”

Responding to concerns raised by women entrepreneurs that access to SME support programs is often limited in regional, particularly remote communities, David Barseghyan noted that efforts are being made to organize outreach visits within available resources: “During these visits, we bring together SME representatives from different communities in one place, listen to the challenges they raise, systematize them, and try to find appropriate solutions.”

Hakob Avagyan, President of the SME Cooperation Association, in turn raised concerns over the absence of a dedicated state-level SME development structure in Armenia.

“At the moment, there is no clearly defined SME development strategy in Armenia; in other words, the state has not articulated what kind of SME sector it aims to develop. The previous strategy expired in 2024, and a significant part of its key provisions has not been implemented. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has also addressed this issue, noting that one of the contributing factors is the closure of the national SME development structure that had been operating since 2002, which ceased its activities about four years ago, along with its regional offices,” he said.

According to Hakob Avagyan, the former structure, though imperfect, played an important institutional role by responding to a wide range of entrepreneurs’ inquiries: “It was closed, but no other structure was created in its place. Under these circumstances, we are calling on the government to first clarify who will implement the new strategy, and only then proceed with its adoption.”

He also recalled that in 2014, through joint efforts with the government, Armenia introduced a law on tax exemptions for family entrepreneurship, which particularly supported the development of guesthouses. Later, this framework evolved into a micro-entrepreneurship system, also encompassing self-employed individuals, but further amendments were introduced in 2022: “The changes over the past four years, in our assessment, have further worsened the situation. Today, more than 30 percent of active business entities operate as sole proprietors, while the share of joint-stock companies is only 1-2 percent, which indicates that institutional development is not being ensured.”

He added that, given the pre-election period, the association plans to invite economic representatives of the four leading political forces to meet with members of the SME Cooperation Association in order to clearly present the reforms and policy changes they propose for the sector.

Arpi Jilavyan

Photos by Gaiane Yenokian