Armenia

Armenia Country Gender Assessment172. Defining a “woman’s business” in Armenia. In addition to the challenge ofquantifying businesses owned or managed by women, defining a “woman’s business” in theArmenian context is not straightforward. According to law, enterprises are legal commercialentities that are classified by the number of paid employees, by sector. 249 Micro enterpriseshave up to 5 employees, small enterprises can have a maximum of 15–50 employees, andmedium-sized enterprises are those with 30–100 employees, depending on the sector. SeeAppendix 1 for a full overview of the micro and SME classification system in Armenia.173. There is no legal definition of a “woman’s enterprise,” but, in practice, theterm has several meanings. The national SME strategy defines a “woman’s business”as “an enterprise managed by [a] woman or with a capital of at least 30% investmentby [women].” 250 Under the ADB technical assistance grant to the Small and MediumEntrepreneurship Development National Center for women’s entrepreneurship support,women’s micro and SMEs are defined as enterprises that fit any of the following categories:(i) at least 50% of enterprise ownership is controlled by women, (ii) at least 60% of seniormanagers are women, or (iii) at least 50% of the registered employees of the enterpriseare women. 251174. During this assessment, several different models for women’s engagement inentrepreneurial activities were suggested that do not fit the accepted definition of an SME.One interviewee from an organization that provides business skills training to womennoted that most women are engaged in what she referred to as “super small” businesses,at the micro level. A respondent from a women’s handicraft initiative explained that thewomen who carry out crafts production are registered as artisans. Women at a focusgroup in Berd also described common ways that women engage in individual, and ofteninformal, business activities, such as traveling to Georgia to purchase goods that they resellin Armenia (shuttle trade) or collecting local plants that they sell locally. These types ofactivities may, in fact, represent how many women in Armenia are engaged in business, butthey fall outside of the usual concept of a micro or SME.175. Focus group participants who had personal experience running a business mostoften described a family business scenario, in which they worked cooperatively withtheir husbands and children. Even if the business venture was initiated by a woman, therespondents made clear that they relied on other family members to help run the businesson a day-to-day basis—they see it as a family venture rather than their sole project. Theneed for programs dedicated specifically to women’s businesses is crucial. On the otherhand, too much emphasis on formally delineating a “woman’s business” from any otherkind of enterprise may be an artificial exercise and one that may not reflect the reality formany women in Armenia.176. Indicators for women’s entrepreneurship promotion included in the national SMEstrategy are based on the ratio of enterprises established by women and men, with anexpected increase from 3% (start-ups by women) in the following pattern: 4%, 2012; 9%,2013; 16%, 2014; and 20%, 2015. By 2015, 200–300 new enterprises that are founded and249 Government of Armenia. 2000. Law on State Support of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship. Yerevan. Adopted 5 December.250 National Strategy of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development, Women’s Entrepreneurship Promotion, 3. http://www.smednc.am/?laid=1&laid=1&com=module&module=static&id=173251 Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors: Proposed Policy-Based Loan, Loan, and Technical Assistance Grant toArmenia for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Support Sector Development Program, p.1.52