LocationsFrom boosting profits to new business niches, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mentorship programme for women entrepreneurs in Belarus has delivered transformative results.
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
Implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of Belarus, the programme is driving transformative results for women entrepreneurs, boosting profits and creating new business niches. Beyond uplifting individual livelihoods, the initiative is strengthening regional economies and fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Belarus.
Small and medium -sized enterprises landscape in Belarus
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 90% of businesses and 60-70% of employment worldwide
In Belarus, the sector is growing, with nearly 116,000 businesses registered in 2023, employing over a third of the country’s workforce, or 1.41 million people. However, growth remains uneven, with a significant concentration of businesses in the City of Minsk and the region.
From left to right: Armen Martirosyan, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Belarus, Vladimir Naumovich, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus.
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
UNDP and the Ministry of Economy of Belarus launched in August 2024 a mentorship programme for women entrepreneurs from Mahilieu, Homiel and Viciebsk regions.
“Supporting entrepreneurship and creating a favorable environment for business development is a priority for Belarus,” said Vladimir Naumovich, Deputy Minister of Economy.
He emphasized the importance of regional development and noted that while mentoring is not new to Belarus, this programme, focused specifically on women, is the first of its kind.
A four-month transformation
The four-month programme paired 15 experienced women managers and business owners with 30 mentees, creating a dynamic ecosystem of knowledge-sharing, support and collaboration.
“Mentorship is about a dynamic relationship of mutual benefit between the mentor and the mentee that allows partners to learn more about themselves first and then refine their life skills to be applied for business promotion,” said Armen Martirosyan, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Belarus. “It reduces barriers for new entrepreneurs, accelerates innovation and increases business sustainability.”
Elena Bokshtayeva (left) and her mentor Oksana Zhikhareva (right).
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
The impact has been profound.
Elena Bokshtayeva from Orsha joined the programme after her online fish sales plateaued. Her mentor, Oksana Zhikhareva, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience, helped Elena analyze her target audience, research competitors, and design a targeted advertising campaign.
Within three months, Elena had opened a physical fish store and her business was reborn. Elena expanded her product range by 20%, online orders surged by nearly 70%, website visits increased by 20%, and her social media following grew exponentially. Next, she plans to launch her own production line.
From left to right: Anastasia Gaikova and her menti Nadezhda Gavrilenko and Natalia Zavitskaya
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
A two-way street of knowledge
Mentorship is not a one-way street. Sometimes, established businesses benefit from the fresh perspective of younger entrepreneurs.
Anastasia Gaikova, a 32-year-old marketing strategist with eight years of experience, mentored managers of a beauty salon and an entrepreneurship support center. Despite being younger than her mentees, Anastasia built strong professional relationships with them by developing marketing strategies and sharing her expertise. With one mentee, she helped increase profits and implement new marketing and HR tools. With the other, she conducted market research, audits and developed a revenue growth plan.
The programme also facilitated career pivots for some participants, like Krystyna Chudakova, from Mogilev. She used this opportunity to reassess her career path entirely. With the programme’s support Krystyna turned her pet-sitting hobby into a profitable business.
Kristina Chudakova (left) and her menti Elena Trubarova (right).
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
Building a resilient and equitable business community
The programme attracted participants from over 10 business fields and diverse backgrounds, including marketing, beauty, design, IT, psychology and crafts, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas - not just within mentor-mentee pairs, but across the entire group. By facilitating a growing business community and creating support networks, the initiative has expanded access to educational, informational, and financial resources for women entrepreneurs.
“The participants themselves were key,” said Deputy Minister Naumovich. “The results demonstrate how mentoring can solve issues related to entrepreneurial support in the regions, and how such investment is justified.”
Photo: UNDP in Belarus
A blueprint for the future
The programme’s success has sparked discussions about scaling up mentoring initiatives and integrating them into existing support mechanisms nationwide. 2024 has also seen the introduction of new financial and non-financial support instruments for SMEs, with business centers now available in most regions and a push to digitalize administrative procedures.
The UNDP mentorship programme is more than a success story - it’s a blueprint for how investing in women can help transform economies. By empowering women entrepreneurs, Belarus is building a more resilient and equitable economy.
As Elena Bokshtayeva puts it, “The programme helped me to understand the true scope of my business and swiftly move on to its next phase of growth." With the right support and mentorship more women entrepreneurs in Belarus can follow in her footsteps.
More details and the results of the Mentorship Programme for Female Entrepreneurs in Belarus are in the casebook.
This article is part of a regional communications project that highlights how UNDP is empowering women in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan through mentorship programs. For more inspiring stories, please visit:
https://www.undp.org/ru/kazakhstan
