About Us
Who We Are
WHAT
Azerbaijan Business Women in partnership with the The Small and Medium Business (SMB) Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan ,Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, US Embassy in Azerbaijan,PASHA Bank and PwC Azerbaijan have announced launch of the program called “SCALE UP” accelerator for women entrepreneurs, designed to help established female owned micro, small and medium businesses to achieve exponential growth.
The mission of the “SCALE UP” accelerator for women entrepreneurs is to support and accelerate business development and growth, targeting women in order to strengthen their participation in, and impact on, the economy.
Why
Female owned businesses are taking the significant part of the country economy. “SCALE UP” program has a vibrant community of coaches and industry experts which understand these challenges and can support to identify pathways to scale. Through “SCALE UP” program, we support women owners growth and help them succeed.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
In this 8-week course, female business owners will focus mainly on personal growth, digital transformation trends, communication challenges, venture investment knowledge as well as exit and international expansion strategies.
PROGRAM BENEFITS
After the completion of the program women fellows will be able to:
• Design strategies in order to sustain and grow business in a changing economy
• Strengthen leadership skills and capability for innovation & digital transformation.
• Identify market growth opportunities and investment readiness
• Establish networks to facilitate increased business activities, trade, commercial promotion and investment.
• Promote access to business development resources, including access to credit, and knowledge sharing that facilitates business activities.
IDEAL CANDIDATES
Who can apply for this program: business owners, founders and co-founders.
Applicant Criteria
• Female entrepreneur, owning a stake of 100% of shares in a qualifying business and managing it on a day-to-day basis
• 25 years or older as of application due date
• Proficient in English
• Readiness to participate for the whole Scale Up program period
Business criteria
Only companies that meet the criteria below will be forwarded to shortlisting:
• For-profit (inc social business), from any industry
• 2+ years operations in the market
• Generating revenue
• Plans/Projections to expand their customer base or market share
The program has 10 face-to-face sessions and 20 hours of individual intensive coaching meetings (one hour dedicated session per each participant).
Sessions will be delivered twice a week (Tuesday/Friday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM)
In this 8-week course, female business owners will focus mainly on personal growth, digital transformation trends, communication challenges, venture investment knowledge as well as exit and international expansion strategies.
PROGRAM BENEFITS
After the completion of the program women fellows will be able to:
• Design strategies in order to sustain and grow business in a changing economy
• Strengthen leadership skills and capability for innovation & digital transformation.
• Identify market growth opportunities and investment readiness
• Establish networks to facilitate increased business activities, trade, commercial promotion and investment.
• Promote access to business development resources, including access to credit, and knowledge sharing that facilitates business activities.
IDEAL CANDIDATES
Who can apply for this program: business owners, founders and co-founders.
Applicant Criteria
• Female entrepreneur, owning a stake of 100% of shares in a qualifying business and managing it on a day-to-day basis
• 25 years or older as of application due date
• Proficient in English
• Readiness to participate for the whole Scale Up program period
Business criteria
Only companies that meet the criteria below will be forwarded to shortlisting:
• For-profit (inc social business), from any industry
• 2+ years operations in the market
• Generating revenue
• Plans/Projections to expand their customer base or market share
The program has 10 face-to-face sessions and 20 hours of individual intensive coaching meetings (one hour dedicated session per each participant).
Sessions will be delivered twice a week (Tuesday/Friday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM)
OUR MENTORS
Mrs.Sevda Aliyeva
Ms.Sevda Aliyeva has 21+ years of hands on management experience in human resources, marketing, product development, b2b sales and customer service Sevda has strong track record of achievements and cross-functional/ cross-industrial/ cross-boarder experience in executive roles in business units of TeliaSonera Eurasia - leading mobile operators in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan & leading corporate bank of Azerbaijan and also extensive experience in managing diverse large scale transformational projects in Telco and Banking in cooperation with global brands (McKinsey, IBM, Korn Ferry Hay Group, Towers Watson, Ernst & Young, PwC, MCE, Accenture, Trout & Partners, Saatchi & Saatchi, Landor, GFK)
Mrs. Sona Abbasova
Sona Abbasova, Corporate Communications Director at PASHA Bank. Sona has joined the Bank in 2010. Prior to PASHA Bank Ms Abbasova had worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as the Senior Communications Officer both in Baku Office and Bank’s headquarters in London. Sona has started her professional carrier in corporate communications filed back in 1998 in the position of PR Officer at the HSBC Bank. English Philology specialist by her first education, she also holds Executive Master’s degree in Corporate Communications from IE Business School.
Ms. Shabnam Mammadova
Shabnam Mammadova, Head Innovation Advisor at State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASAN Service). More than 10 years she is in the sector of technology and innovations. Shabnam has started to her career at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies as innovation specialist. During different period she worked as Acting head of Department for E-governance department. In 2018 she was appointed as an Advisor on Innovations to the Minister of Agriculture. In 2019 September she joined State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASAN Service). Recently she runs different innovative projects on digital transformation and stimulation with different mechanisms startup and innovation ecosystem in Azerbaijan. She graduated International relations, but continued her master degree in the field of Business Administration and International Business from Maastricht School of Management and ADA University. Now she continues her education in Digital Executive Leadership at IE Business School. Innovation enthusiast, CoFounder of Femmes Digitales.
Ms. Sara Isakova
Sara Isakova, Senior Legal Associate at PwC Azerbaijan. Sara joined PwC Azerbaijan in 2014 and her main practice focuses on corporate, employment/migration and contract law. She has extensive experience in advising multinational companies on regulatory framework of Azerbaijani laws. Recently she has participated in numerous M&A projects for entities engaged in various industries such as banking, petrochemical production, IT and telecommunications. Sara holds her Bachelor’s Diploma with Honors from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and LLM Diploma with Honors from Baku State University.
Mr.Bahruz Huseynzada
Mr. Huseynzade has over 4 years of professional experience in Banking industry and financial advisory services in the specialization of financial modelling, business due diligence and M&A. Before joining PwC Azerbaijan, Bahruz worked in one of the largest bank in Azerbaijan in Treasury department. Bahruz was involved in establishment liquidity planning/management framework, effective cash flow forecasting model and formulating Treasury Policy/Procedures.
