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    Categories: 2017

World Bank Group Launches New Advisory Project in Armenia to Support Women and Help Reduce Poverty

ENP Newswire
 Friday


-World Bank Group Launches New Advisory Project in Armenia to Support
Women and Help Reduce Poverty



The World Bank Group is launching a new advisory project in Armenia to
support women engaged in the wild harvest sector, to help increase
productivity, reduce poverty, and spur economic growth.



The three-year Armenia Gender project, implemented by IFC-a sister
organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group-will
help women engage in more productive activities in the sector, and
foster their links with buyers and producers. Wild harvesting is
composed almost entirely of women and provides a vital source of
income for many of Armenia's poorest citizens, especially in remote
areas. However, its productivity is hampered by challenges including a
poorly developed value chain, with low turnover and profits.

Lilit Asatryan, Chairwoman of the Armenian Young Women's Association,
said: 'Developing the wild harvesting sector's value chain has real
potential to improve the lives of many in Armenia's remote areas. For
that to happen, the currently disjointed system needs to be improved
and made more efficient, with standardized collecting procedures, and
close links to buyers and markets.'

The project will work with the Armenian Young Women's Association to
improve entrepreneurs' skills and enhance value-chain participation
through business education, mentoring, and networking activities. The
project will also provide advice to the Ministry of Agriculture to
improve the regulatory environment. To ensure the efficient
implementation of regulatory reforms and women's involvement in the
decision-making process, the project will foster coordination among
key stakeholders, including women's business associations, buyers,
industry networks, and the government.

'Women's employment is vital to driving economic development, so
supporting women's participation in the labor market is a 'win-win'
for Armenia,' said Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South
Caucasus. 'This new project aims to help women employed in this sector
reach new markets, by working with key stakeholders to remove
obstacles and adopting regulations that will help develop the sector.'

The Armenia Gender project is funded by Austria's Federal Ministry of
Finance and the World Bank's multi-donor Umbrella Facility for Gender
Equality.

Armenia became an IFC member in 1995. Since then, IFC has provided
over $ 480 million, including nearly $ 118 million mobilized from
other lenders, to finance 49 projects across a range of sectors,
including financial markets, manufacturing, agribusiness, services,
and mining. In addition, IFC has also supported trade transactions
worth more than $ 130 million through its trade finance program, and
implemented advisory projects focused on private sector development.

About the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding
and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely
associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association
(IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance
Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the
mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in
the developing world. For more information, please visit
www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.

Alex Nanijanian:
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