On 6 November, a
panel on “Women’s Entrepreneurship as a Creative Economy Growth Driver” was
held within the business programme of the 16th Russia–Kazakhstan
Interregional Cooperation Forum organised by the Ministry of Economic
Development of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation. The panel
was coordinated by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Committee at Business Russia
NGO (Delovaya Rossiya) and Kazakhstan’s Damu Fund.
The panel comprised four
break-out sessions and was attended by successful women entrepreneurs from both
countries. The discussion covered topics including policies to support women’s
entrepreneurship, the role of women’s entrepreneurship in regional development,
measures to support women’s entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, as well as social
entrepreneurship problems and aspects of building legislative support. The
panel was moderated by representatives of both countries: Natalia Komarova,
Chairwoman of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Committee at Business Russia NGO,
and Lazzat Ramazanova, vice-chairman of the national chamber of entrepreneurs
of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Atameken".
“Promoting women’s
entrepreneurship has been a global trend in recent years. Experience shows that
women can be particularly effective in social areas, so it is critical for us
to share experiences and success stories with other countries and inspire our
women entrepreneurs to new heights. A thematic discussion at the
Russia–Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum has become one such platform
for interaction, like sharing current practices in managing women’s businesses,
discussing effective support measures and new ideas – things that can
become drivers for this area not only in Russia and Kazakhstan, but also
globally,” said Natalia Komarova.
Participants in the
discussion noted the importance of the Law on Social Entrepreneurship passed by
the State Duma of the Russian Federation, which will become a directly
applicable law not only enabling the maintenance of a social enterprise
register but also legally formalising the very concept of social
entrepreneurship. According to expert estimates, 60% to 90% of social
businesses and projects are run by women.
Oksana Nabatchikova,
deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Orenburg Region and Deputy Chairwoman
of the Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, and Entrepreneurship, shared her
views on women’s entrepreneurship as a source of ideas for the creative
economy. According to her, women’s entrepreneurship is a trend of the
21st century and modern women are becoming increasingly active. The
creative economy is a rapidly growing sector, just like social
entrepreneurship, and both are driven by innovation. Social entrepreneurship is
aimed not only at addressing social problems but also at supporting creative
potential, and today any country will only win from supporting creative
potential in entrepreneurship and the economy.
Kirill Semyonov, Deputy
Chairman of the Management Board at SME Bank, discussed programmes to
support women’s entrepreneurship in the banking sector. Bakhitzhan Samiyeva,
Chairwoman of the North Kazakhstan Region chapter of the Association of
Businesswomen of Kazakhstan, spoke about the undeniable role of social
partnerships in the development of the North Kazakhstan Region, noting that the
availability of multiple training programmes has become an important growth
driver contributing to increasing numbers of individual entrepreneurs in the
region.
Irina Serbina, Chairwoman
of the Omsk-based regional NGO Centre for Social Area Innovation, spoke about
success drivers for women’s entrepreneurship. According to her, moral support
as a success driver is often as important as state, information, or financial
support. Moderator Natalia Komarova (Business Russia NGO) contributed to the
panel by presenting the programme “Using Public-Private Partnership Policy as a
Driver of SME Projects in the Social Sphere”.
A separate cluster of
cases presented at the panel focused on women’s social projects and their
impact on society and social businesses. Participants in the panel discussed
success stories such as a co-living hostel chain, the specialised travel
company Liberty serving the disabled, Sleep Formula – a sewing factory making specialised bed linen for
healthcare, children’s and health resort institutions, and many other
successful projects.
The panel participants
agreed that social entrepreneurship and women’s entrepreneurship have limitless
potential, which will inevitable become a driver of positive change both for
the economy and societal development in general.
The event’s image gallery
is available at: https://yadi.sk/d/xiZRmzM0WrdLgw
