BISNIS trade specialists and a SABIT representative hosted seven Russian women business leaders at the USA Trade Center in the Ronald Reagan Building on October 20. The visitors were in Washington for the Business Women’s Network (BWN) Global Business Summit, which provided an opportunity to network, share information, and increase knowledge of how business is conducted around the world. SABIT and BISNIS briefed the women on their activities and discussed issues of interest to the visitors as well as possibilities for cooperation.
The visitors work for private companies and nonprofit organizations in Russia that help promote small business development, greater professionalism, and the position of women in the workplace.
The group included:
¨ Natalia Petrova, vice-president of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Russia, which holds conferences and conducts some 20 programs that help women start businesses, get jobs, and succeed in the workplace;
¨ Natalia Abramova, a journalist for the Saratov Broadcasting Co., who has organized numerous journalistic projects on women’s issues and economic development;
¨ Tatiana Mikheeva, co-director of the Moscow office of TechCare Systems Inc., a Redwood, City, California-based company that makes pharmaceuticals, diagnostic kits, and lab equipment, and an alumnus of the SABIT program;
¨ Irina Razumnova, chairwoman of Guildia Small Business Development Center, which operates a business school, conducts training workshops on small business development in Russian regions, and organizes courses by foreign specialists on management, and is currently working to promote the creation of home-based businesses in Russia;
¨ Elena Fedyashina, director in Russia of the Alliance of American and Russian Women, which conducts a business incubator program in the Novgorod region to assist emerging entrepreneurs, a customer service training program in Moscow, and a mentoring program; and
¨ Aika Jaxybayeva, managing partner and cofounder of Prime Standard, a Russian accounting and tax firm in Moscow, who is creating a small business forum in Russia to promote networking and information exchanges between small companies operating in Moscow.
The group was accompanied by Anna Mironova of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP in Washington, DC.
BISNIS & Ukrainian Women
On October 21, BISNIS’ Juliana Kinal joined a panel of speakers addressing 12 Ukrainian businesswomen who attended the BWN summit. Together with representatives of ACDI-VOCA and Winrock International (Morrilton, AK), Juliana spoke about BISNIS programs that assist Ukrainian businesses. The women—the directors of a publishing house, a hotel, a school of design, a clothing manufacturing firm, two food processing plants, an advertising agency, and a travel agency—came from five Ukrainian cities (Lviv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Cherkasy) and were sponsored by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation. The foundation runs the Community Partnerships Program, which pairs 18 Ukrainian and U.S. cities, establishing relationships through internships, homestays, training, and joint projects.
To contact the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, call (202) 347-4264, fax (202) 347-4267, or email: usuf@usukraine.org.
Alliance of American and Russian Women
New York office: 212-730-5082 (tel)
Email: Info@AARwomen.org
Moscow office: +7 (095) 349-0554 (tel/fax)
Email: elenazar@mail.cnt.ru
Women Entrepreneurs Association of Russia
Tel: +7 (095) 143-5755
Email: awer.petrova@mtu-net.ru
Guildia Small Business Development Center
Tel: +7 (095) 290-1110
Fax: +7 (095) 291-9077
Email: guildia@online.ru