"My life has changed after taking part in the program," says Gohar, a mother of two boys who left ten years of banking career to pursue her passion in tech.

-Ani jan, let me put my two little boys to sleep and I’ll get back to you so we can talk in peace, - said Gohar and returned after two hours with the same positive energy and vigor.

In our short interview, Gohar claimed that during those ten years of working in banking sector she also used to work with coders and always felt passion for the tech sector. Although the sudden shift in her career seemed to be a frightening change to her, the desire to gain new skills and to discover fresh ideas and innovative solutions appeared to be even more powerful than her fears.

-I started in the bank as a specialist in the risk department and worked all the way up to managing three different departments. Though my career in banking was quite successful, I always felt a lack of discoveries, - says Gohar.

And then one day Gohar left her job to turn a new page in her career by learning product and project management. After a while, she got her first job as a product manager… and right then  the global pandemic started.

Gohar says that the pandemic made things much more complicated. She realized that she has no one to ask questions about joining the tech field, no one to guide her. She was also stuck at home with her two boys - a person on the sidelines would never imagine that the struggle was real.

-Of course, I was a little disappointed and I doubted whether I had made the right decision. It was difficult to navigate myself in this field all alone, but that was exactly when I saw the announcement of the Accelerator #5 program on Facebook. I remember the line that caught my eye: “Accelerator #5 is designed to empower women and kids living in Armenia by delivering tech and business training, along with helping them come up with their startup projects.” It was like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Gohar says that when she saw the number of applicants for the program, she felt a little unsure whether she would be selected or not. Thus, Gohar wrote her motivation letter as attentively as she could.

-The interview was one of the best parts. I instantly felt confident enough to answer all the questions… Maybe this was because of my skills but I remember that the interview part was quite easy to deal with.

-My kids were the first ones to enter kindergarten and the last ones to leave because I had to go to work and sometimes I couldn't leave early from work because of some important meetings. The worst part was when my children got sick. The fact that I had to take care of them, at the same time taking care of the work tasks, and also ensuring my active participation in the program sounded like a disaster.

Gohar says that she is sure that she was not the only mother struggling with this issue… and just like that Gohar started thinking of an application that would solve this problem for a lot of parents.

What is HOGATAR?

HogaTAR is a mobile application with the help of which parents will be able to choose a combination of services simultaneously.

For example, parents can choose safe and comfortable transportation of the child from one place to another, and a babysitter to assist the child during that time. With HogaTAR, parents can also track all that process remotely.

The idea was to create a platform with which it will be possible to organize child’s transportation (including those with mobility disabilities).

Each car will be equipped with a child seat corresponding to the age of the child, the whole transportation process will be monitored by video, and the customer will return everything online. The customer will choose an accompanying driver, the child's occupation in the car, which will be prepared in advance by psychologists and educators.

The HOGATAR team plans to work with several private kindergartens in Yerevan, and the implementation process is planned to start in August 2021.

Accelerator #5 is designed to empower women and kids living in Armenia by delivering tech and business training, along with helping them to come up with their startup projects. The accelerator program is addressing SDG 5, which calls for gender equality and empowerment of all women and kids since there's an immense opportunity to make an impact worldwide via knowledge gained and personalized by kids and women.

Accelerator #5 (ACC #5) vol.3 is implemented by UNDP in Armenia’s ImpactAIM Accelerator in cooperation with Innovative Solutions and Technologies Center (ISTC Foundation), Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), and UNICEF Armenia. The project is funded by the United Nations (UN) COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund (COVID-19 MPTF).