“Starting a social enterprise – a small bakery in Gori – has been a great opportunity for us,” said Pati Bukhrikidze, head of Women and Development Association, established in 2004. The association has been working to promote gender equality and gender education in Georgia. The programs are focused of women’s rights protection and their empowerment and involvement in social, economic, and political life. Through EPF’s Social Enterprise project, the Association established the First Social Enterprise LTD and purchased equipment to start a small bakery in Gori that employs six people, including three women displaced by the August was of 2008.
“In addition to the employment opportunities that the bakery has created, we have started to think about our future as a truly successful business enterprise. Effective and targeted consultancy, applicable foreign experience, donations from a Czech charitable foundation and a grant support from EPF allowed us to get our business idea off the ground,” Ms. Bukhrikidze continues.
EPF organized a study tour for two employees of Gori bakery at Entrée café in Tbilisi to learn how to improve service and product quality. The Gori Bakery staff was introduced to the high-quality products and services that Entrée cafés offer and learned about Entrée’s initial marketing and sales strategy. The Gori Bakery staff also took part in baking bread, croissants, and other pastries.
Recently, the Gori Bakery LTD reached the breakeven point and is now generating small but consistent profits through catering of baked goods and salads to local schools and companies.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Eurasia Partnership Foundation is announcing a competition for students on the use of the data from the recent survey by EPF’s Caucasus Research Resource Center – Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia in their works. To provide guidance, a three-day training course is offered to the potential applicants free of charge on interpreting and presenting data of the quantitative social research. Full text of the announcement is available only in Georgian.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Eurasia Partnership Foundation is announcing a competition for journalists on the use of the data from the recent survey by EPF’s Caucasus Research Resource Center – Knowledge and Attitudes toward the European Union in Georgia. To provide guidance, a two-day training course is offered to the potential applicants free of charge on interpreting and presenting data of the quantitative social research. Full text of the announcement is available only in Georgian.
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