Project Goal

Ayo! is proud to partner with the Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC) on a transformative initiative designed to empower women to turn their skills into viable businesses, with a focus on developing core competencies in business, marketing, and finance.

Message from Victoria

If you know me, you know how deeply I care about Armenia and the empowerment of its people. It is by far the most important aspect of my identity and the cause about which I am most passionate. 

This past summer, I worked with Fund for Armenian Relief and saw firsthand the impact of its programs and the breadth of its reach. With over 300 projects across healthcare, child protection, economic development, social services, and education, valued at over $380 million, I believe FAR is one of the leading organizations driving Armenia’s development and empowerment, especially when it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising and engaging youth donors. 

She Can is an accelerator program that empowers female entrepreneurs and displaced Artsakhtsi women to start their own businesses. Many of these women lost loved ones and primary breadwinners in the war. Through She Can, they gain the tools, training, and support they need to launch businesses and bring their products to market.

Having spent a lot of time in Armenia, I have seen the impact of $1 there, exponentially more valuable than a similar amount in North America. For these women, this is the greatest—and, likely, only—opportunity they have to financially support their families whilst pursuing their passions. From handiwork to baked goods, I have seen some of the projects to come out of SheCan and these inspiring women, and I believe it is a cause worth supporting. 

Please consider contributing to this cause. Having been raised by strong, hardworking women, I want to honor them by encouraging my friends to redirect what they might have spent on a gift toward supporting She Can instead. I know many of you are college students and young adults like me — this donation can be the cost of a coffee or an Uber, the amount matters not. Thank you for helping empower Armenian women to build successful futures!

Project Background

This innovative program is tailored for women—many of whom are single mothers or displaced from Artsakh—who already possess a craft, trade, or creative talent and are ready to build it into a sustainable source of income. This initiative centers on equipping participants with the knowledge and tools to launch and grow their own ventures over the course of three months. Training modules will cover business planning, budgeting, pricing strategies, digital marketing, branding, and more. Participants will also receive mentorship and have access to seed funding through a dedicated grant program designed to support both solo entrepreneurs and collaborative startups. It costs only $500 to sponsor one woman's participation! 

Shirak remains one of Armenia's most economically vulnerable regions, with poverty and unemployment rates significantly higher than the national average. As of 2020, the poverty rate reached 48.4%, with child poverty at 57.7%, compounded by the long-term effects of the 1988 earthquake.

Despite these challenges, Gyumri is seeing signs of revival. GITC, established by FAR in 2005, has played a pivotal role in this recovery. While primarily focused on tech education, GITC is now broadening its mission to include entrepreneurial development. By supporting women in transforming their skills into businesses, GITC is helping to create jobs, strengthen families, and foster economic resilience in the region.