The Project implemented in close cooperation with CARD Foundation was aimed at conducting Baseline Assessment for the “Women Leading in Rural Entrepreneurship in Armenia WoLeRE” component of the USAID-funded “Rural Economic Development - New Economic Opportunities” project.
The goal of the project was to enhance women’s capacity for entry to rural entrepreneurship, increasing women’s access to agricultural innovation, advancing women’s economic leadership/empowerment, etc.
Within the Project, BSC covered 4 research targets which are described below:
- Women involved in agribusiness. The study focused on identifying women in regional communities who were (or planning to be) engaged in agribusiness activities and pursue higher-paid jobs.
- Skills and capacities. Another direction of the study revealed gaps in hard and soft skills of agripreneur women for conducting an agribusiness in rural areas of Armenia.
- Partnership and networking possibilities. In the frames of this objective BSC team studied partnership and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs in rural areas of Armenia.
- Assessment on Gender Discrimination and GBV: revealing the GBV issues among women in study communities. Trafficking, gender equality and child labor issues are also under the consideration in the frame of current study.
Final output of the project was the baseline assessment through a combination of consultative and field-based processes conducted by BSC. The methodology was based mainly on quantitative study among potential beneficiaries of the WoLeRE component. To supplement the statistical data obtained from the quantitative survey, BSC also conducted qualitative study, including focus group discussions, expert interviews and desk research.
The quantitative study included surveys in 10 regions of Armenia, in shortlisted communities. The survey was conducted among women of employable age, who were either engaged in entrepreneurship activities or were planning to start their career in agribusiness.
The qualitative study included focus group discussions, expert interviews and desk research, particularly 5 focus groups (in all a total of 32 participants) and 5 individual interviews with experts from various project-related sectors.