Five ways UN Women is accelerating women’s economic empowerment in Europe and Central Asia

This year, UN Women, the youngest UN organization, proudly celebrates its 15th anniversary. As the UN’s engine for gender equality and women’s rights, we are here to deliver for women and girls across Europe and Central Asia.

When we invest in women, entire communities thrive. Women make enormous contributions to economies as business owners, farmers, employees, and caregivers. Yet, they continue to face deep-rooted barriers, including poverty, discrimination, and exploitation. In the Europe and Central Asia region, poverty affects more women than men in most countries, particularly rural women, older women, single mothers, and women heading households. In 2021, around 116.3 million people in the region (12.4% of the population) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, with women more likely to be affected than men. Now more than ever, advancing women’s economic empowerment is critical. Here’s how the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia is working to make that happen.

1. Catapulting women’s entrepreneurship through innovative programmes 

In collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Yıldız Holding, we have launched a unique platform dedicated to nurturing the entrepreneurial landscape for women across Europe and Central Asia – the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO.

Since 2021, the EXPO has become a flagship initiative of the global Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator. It creates a vibrant community of women-helping-women and cultivates collaboration, networking, peer learning, idea generation, skills-building, and business growth for women entrepreneurs, investors, and the private sector. So far, the EXPO has engaged over 5,000 women entrepreneurs from 22 countries through more than 150 virtual bootcamps in 10 languages. These sessions covered key entrepreneurship topics such as business planning, pricing, branding, and digital marketing. The initiative also includes an annual regional virtual EXPO, featuring nearly 20 panels, masterclasses, networking opportunities, peer learning sessions, and knowledge-exchange initiatives.

The programme has also gone offline, with in-person events in over 10 countries thanks to more than 110 local partners, including other UN agencies, public and private sector companies, investors, local municipalities, civil society, and academia.

2. Making budgets work for women through gender-responsive budgeting

In the Western Balkans, more than 200,000 women have directly benefited from Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) initiatives supported by UN Women. By aligning national and local budgets with gender equality goals, countries like Albania, Kosovo, and Serbia are achieving measurable results that improve women’s access to resources, services, and economic opportunities, and helping to bridge the gap between policy and lived realities for women.

Albania offers a strong example of national-level GRB institutionalization, with gender considerations now embedded across 11 ministries and 26 institutions. The 2025 draft budget reflects this shift, allocating over 9% of total public spending to gender-responsive initiatives. Notable achievements include direct cash assistance for women heads of households, maternity and parental leave payments, and housing subsidies for vulnerable women. In the area of employment, over 1,300 women and girls, including women entrepreneurs, have benefited from promotion programs, and nearly 80% of women job seekers retained employment after program completion. In rural areas, hundreds of women farmers and aspiring women entrepreneurs are now receiving tailored advisory services and subsidies.

Kosovo has successfully integrated GRB into 16 municipal budgets, enabling investments in childcare, rural subsidies, and digital skills training, all supporting increased participation of women in the labor market. These efforts have delivered real impact: childcare subsidies for working mothers, €3 million allocated to services for survivors of domestic violence, and digital innovation training for women farmers and entrepreneurs.

In Serbia, GRB has become a key mechanism for inclusive economic growth. Since its institutionalization in 2015, nearly 2,000 women entrepreneurs have accessed financial support, mentorship, and improved access to public procurement. Regional Development Agencies are also providing business development training to women entrepreneurs, helping them overcome market barriers and expand their participation in the formal economy.

3. Partnering with the private sector

In 2022, UN Women and Yıldız Holding partnered to promote women’s entrepreneurship and inclusive supply chains across the region. Through this partnership, Yıldız Holding invested over $4 million to support women entrepreneurs. The strategic collaboration created market opportunities for women-led businesses and accelerated women’s entrepreneurship within and beyond the region.

4. Empowering financial institutions and markets on gender equality

In September 2024, we hosted a design-thinking workshop to support financial institutions in developing products tailored to women’s needs. Six representatives from the financial institutions from Albania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan gained practical tools to create gender-sensitive financial and non-financial products for women, such as business loans with lower interest rates for women entrepreneurs, tailored credit cards, and training and mentorship packages offered by financial institutions. The participants also explored how to improve financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs. Co-creating work is ongoing in Moldova and Georgia, and will soon be launched in Uzbekistan.

Together with our Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Secretariat, we’ve also partnered with the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to deepen gender equality knowledge in capital markets of our partner stock exchanges. Two regional workshops were held to engage 107 participants from stock exchanges of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

5. Listening to women entrepreneurs

We joined forces with Eurochambres and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave the way for closer collaboration in supporting women in business and promoting gender equality at both regional and global levels.

Together with the Eurochambres Women Network, we conducted a survey that captured the realities of women entrepreneurs across Europe. The main takeaways of the survey, launched in April 2025, are that balancing work and personal life remains the top challenge for women entrepreneurs; 75% of respondents relied on personal savings to launch their businesses; and supportive networks and communities are critical to women’s success as entrepreneurs.

 ¹ References to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).