On 24 June 2006 in Sofia was held the roundtable presenting the project in Bulgaria. The purpose of the roundtables was also is to share the project results and the good experience of the partners with the local community and initiate a discussion on the specific topic of mentoring for women entrepreneurs as a possible form for self-employment of women in order to increase their number and improve the quality of their participation in the economic life through development of mentoring training programs and materials.

In the roundtable took part the Slovak partner CWSP Association  – Iskra Pehlivanova (Project Coordinator, Bratislava), Bojena Volkova and Zuzana Karlikova (Top Center, Bratislava); the Turkish partners – Ceren Isat (Project Coordinator, KA-DER), Zuhal Arnaz-Tataroglu and Gul Erdost, (Contemporary Youth and Women Foundation, Ankara) and from Bulgaria the representatives of the leading organization CWSP, Sofia – Magdanela Delinesheva (Project Coordinator), Tatyana Kmetova, Roza Dimova, Natalia Piskova, Aleksandra Vlaikovich (Intern at CWSP, Master's Program in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe in Sarajevo), as well as Mariana Draganova, Sociologist, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Dimitrina Todorova and Milena Dacheva, BARDA (Bulgarian Association of Regional Development Agencies), Mariana Pecheyan, President, Club of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers; Irina Yordanova, Director EU Projects, Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria; Elena Krastenova, Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development.

The programme for the visit included a Roundtable  (Serdika Hotel) and a visit to the shop “Ten Senses”.

The Roundtable was moderated by Tatyana Kmetova, Executive Director of CWSP. She presented the participants from Bulgaria. The roundtable gathered women from different organizations who work for encouraging women’s entrepreneurship and focused on different target groups – from school girls to disadvantaged women. Ms. Ceren Isat and Ms. Bojena Volkova afterwards presented the guests from Turkey and Slovakia.

Magdanela Delinesheva presented the activities of the CWSP in particular the Program of CWSP on Women in the Economic Development is mainly focused on conducting researches, surveys and analyses (Social and economic infrastructure and guarantees for equal treatment of women in Bulgaria, 2004; Women and men in Bulgarian Pension System, 2004; Bulgarian employers and women at work, 2004; Gender analysis of a company, 2005) as well as providing training to women in entrepreneurial skills (implemented with Integra-BDS Association in 2004 in 4 big and 4 small municipalities, which also included counseling for business start up and management during the period of growth by developing specific business skills, conducting analysis of the needs for additional training as well as the creation of a network of women’s business clubs for support).

Special emphasis of the presentation was put on the project Learning partnerships against social exclusion: mentoring for women entrepreneurs (financed by the Socrates/ Grundtvig 2 Learning Partnerships Subprogram) in the framework of which was organized this roundtable. The project partners – CWSP, Sofia, Center of Women’s Studies and Policies Association, Bratislava and KADER Association for Supporting and Training Women Candidates, Ankara, invited as learners from this exchange of experience three main organizations from the three countries: Top Center Association, Bratislava; Contemporary Youth and Women Foundation, Ankara and the Bulgarian Association of Regional Development Agencies

Ms. Mariana Draganova, Ph.D., from the Institute of Sociology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, presented the Report on the results from the conducted inquiry among women entrepreneurs. The inquiry was carried out using a questionnaire as an instrument for collecting the information, prepared according to the suggestions and with the approval of the CWSP Sofia. On the whole 45 women entrepreneurs filled it in, therefore the collected data and the analysis is valid only for the surveyed aggregation. The purpose of the inquiry was to receive more detailed information about the problems that women entrepreneurs face in their work, about their opinion regarding opportunities for partnership and development of mentoring training programs. The inquiry checked what the level of awareness of women business owners regarding mentoring as an approach is as well as their attitude to it as a business training tool. Special emphasis was put on their opinions regarding women’s training needs in entrepreneurial skills and the most appropriate forms of training according to them, including their attitude towards mentoring as an approach. In that respect they resonded whether they consider that women business owners are willing to partner and share their experience and knowledge to other women as well as other questions regarding different problems of women entrepreneurs.(More:results_enquiry.pdf (95.09 Kb))

On the basis of this inquiry a few very important conclusions were drawn: (i) women entrepreneurs are open to gain new experience, knowledge and skills through continuous training; (ii) mentoring as an alternative form of training for women in business and its advantages was not completely recognized among the women entrepreneurs; (iii) women entrepreneurs are willing and feel prepared to be trained as mentors through new training forms for women in business especially through Internet and on the job training or being mentees using e-discussion forums, individual coaching etc.; (iv) the respondents do not support the view that gender discrimination in the field of business exists, even though they indicate the family obligations and childcare as the main reasons for the difficulties and the biggest burden in their work; (v) the business profile of the surveyed women is still in the conventional branches as services and trade.

Then Ms. Bojena Volkova from the Top Center, Bratislava shared her personal experience in starting up her own business after the changes in former Czechoslovakia in 1989. She managed to use her professional expertise as a flight attendant, a person who spoke foreign languages and had studied tourism and protocol and established her tourist agency with the support of her family. Afterwards, it was a natural response to the demand of the market that her company started to organize events like congresses, exhibitions, international fairs. For this purpose, she needed qualified personnel and started to provide training to women in these skills initially, which afterwards in entrepreneurship. She has been with the TCP since its establishment and is of the mentors with a lot of experience in training.

The other representative of the Slovak partner – Ms. Zuzana Karlikova shared her experience as a mentor and one of the people who initiated the mentoring programme of the TCP, Bratislava. Ms. Karlikova’s business is in the sphere of tourism – she is a hotel owner. She explained what the procedure for organizing the mentoring process in TCP is. First, she focused on the importance of media advertisements – in order to find the most appropriate candidates for mentors and mentees on the one hand, and on the other, to widely promote the idea to the general public. After gathering the candidates, the prospective mentors choose their future mentees and meet each other to introduce themselves and share their expectations. Afterwards the mentor and mentee(s) – because one mentor may have more than one mentee – specify their schedule for meetings on a regular basis. During these meetings very concrete questions are discussed, i.e. mentoring is achieved through discussing problems. The mentor answers questions and gives advice but the final decision is taken by the mentee. In fact, this process is not useful only for the mentee.

Ms. Karlikova was asked to share her personal involvement as a mentor. She had a mentee (also in the same sphere of business, which is, however, not so spread as a practice). The mentee started building a hotel in another town and during the year of mentorship they regularly had conversations on the phone. According to Ms. Karlikova, this experience was very useful for her as a mentor as well. She herself received better view of her own business. She felt rewarded with the successful results of her mentee and the good relationship established between them. The mentor finds new possibilities, too. In conclusion, Ms. Karlikova considers that the mentoring programme is very useful both for women, who are starting up their businesses and for already successful women entrepreneurs and especially to extend and develop such relationships including at the international level.

Ceren Isat presented the Turkish partner – the Association for Supporting and Training Women Candidates, KA-DER, Ankara. She emphasised on the good partnership established with the Contemporary Woman and Youth Foundation and the new opportunities for enhancing the joint activities on the basis of the experience of the project.

Ms. Zuhal Arnaz-Tataroglu presented briefly the activities of the Contemporary Woman and Youth Foundation which operates as a community center in the district of Mamak, which is one of the largest and poorest districts in Ankara with unemployment rates of almost 100 per cent for women. The most important activities for the organization have always been empowering women starting from basic literacy courses. Ms. Tatargoglu presented one of the most important projects of their organization called “Women for Women” (January 2004 – October 2006), financed by the Matra Programme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is about establishing a Women Employment Centre in the poor suburb of Mamak in Ankara. More about the project and the women trained though it.

The participants asked Ms. Arnaz-Tataroglu if there were already women who after the trainings started up their own businesses. She explained that by that time 20 women had already started up their businesses and opened up: 3 restaurants, serving traditional food; a workshop for extra-large clothes; a workshop for knitted goods; a mosaic workshop; a real-estate agency; a day-care center; a laundry; a waffle factory.

Ms. Mariana Pecheyan, President of the Club of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers and Business Lady of the Year Award 2000 is also one of the founders and the driving force of the Club of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers. It was established 3 years ago and now more than 60 women take part regularly in its activities. She expressed the willingness of the Club to extend its relation with similar organizations abroad and was very interested in the opportunity to establish contact with the Slovak partners from PTC. (More)

  

Ms. Dimitrina Todorova, Executive Director of BARDA, discussed the partnership with CWSP and the importance of the project Learning Partnerships against Social Exclusion: Mentoring for Women Entrepreneurs for BARDA with regard to its future using of mentoring as a training approach for women entrepreneurs throughout their network. She focused on the necessity of introducing a mentoring programme for women entrepreneurs using the Slovak partners’ models and confirmed that BARDA will be involved through its regional agencies in a follow-up of this project for implementing this programme.

 

Before closing the discussion, the project coordinator from Bratislava – Ms. Iskra Pehlivanova once again focused on the importance of this type of good practice exchange for all partner organizations, as well as for the invited learner organizations to join the learning partnership. Ms. Karlikova suggested that with the use of new technologies and forms of training online, mentoring can go beyond borders and achieve successful results. The Slovak partners from TCP are ready to offer mentoring to women entrepreneurs from Bulgaria and Turkey. The partners agreed to look for new opportunities to continue this partnership.

 

After the roundtable, the guests were invited to visit the shop “Ten Senses”, where the group was joined by Ms. Susan Chakar from the Turkish Cultural Center and Ms. Daria Ivanova, volunteer to the CWSP. The shop “Ten Sense” was established by Integra-Bulgaria in collaboration with Counterpart–Bulgaria. Both organizations have good partnership with the CWSP and have implemented joint projects or initiatives. The guests were welcomed by Integra’s staff, responsible for the programme – Ms. Dessislava Chalamova and Mr. Petar Petrov, who spoke about the concept of Fair Trade, how it was introduced in Bulgaria and the Brand “Ten Senses”.

 

All meetings and visits were valued high by the participants because they had opportunity to discuss and exchange their experience and think about new opportunities to support and enhance women’s participation in business. The different experiences and expertise of the participants was an asset to project by giving different angles and finding innovative ways to establish new partnership and further develop the existing ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This page has been developed under the project Learning Partnerships against Social Exclusion: Mentoring for Women Entrepreneurs, financed by the Socrates/ Grundtvig 2 Program.

 

The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the Center of Women’s Studies and Policies and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Commission or the Socrates National Agency.