HERA’s Special SARS COV-2 competition, launched in early April, received applications from women entrepreneurs in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The competition revealed the strength and resilience of the HERA women entrepreneurs in the four countries. Grantees are finding creative ways to respond to a “new normal” while actively supporting their employees and communities. A full report is available here

Congratulations to our prize winner of the HERA’s Special SARS COV-2 competition who received a cash prize to support their businesses during this difficult time. Join us in celebrating their achievements by following their work using the links below!

First Prize Winner – Orran, an Armenian NGO. Run by Manana, she told us how Orran is adapting to covid-19:⁠

“We are providing food packages to more than 200 poor and needy families and 90 lonely elderly as well as provide them online psychological and counseling support. These people are the most vulnerable groups who need our support especially during this period. Some of them are losing their homes as they are not able to pay for the rent, or unable to pay for the utilities. We do our best to seek funds to cover all of these needs.”

Second Prize Winner – Ukrainian NGO, Creative Women Space, reports adapting its program by going online:

“Creative Quarantine is not educational, but rather supportive and engaging. The slogan of this project is “You are not alone”. Since late March, we have already had 25 daily Facebook-lives (30-minutes long). The topics vary from taking care of your mental health during the pandemic to crisis management during the lockdown (other examples of topics: how to balance your work from home and childcare, creative writing as a self-help tool, social activism during the quarantine, how to support local brands during the lockdown, how to overcome the fear of losing your job, etc.). We invite both experienced female speakers and those who have never done webinars. We have planned 80 speakers and lives on Facebook until June 2020.”

Third Prize Winner – Beelife, an Armenian venture. Founder Gayane keeps her team working with protective equipment (made by another HERA grantee); and she reports,

“In order to address the virus impact on our business we are trying to strengthen our domestic market (apitherapy products). During these days we have a lot of orders of propolis and hand creams. For the first time we sell the people propolise tincture and have fantastic feedback. It helps people to be protected from viruses and bacteria and enhances the immune system. We can say that we have our little contribution to the fight against the pandemic.”

HERA also awards seven further ventures who received an honorary mention with a cash prize. Many grantees expressed appreciation for HERA’s Special Competition and for “remembering us” in these hard times.