The financial inclusion organization Crystal has conducted a training for its employees on the importance of gender equality and diversity in partnership with the Asian Development Bank.
For Crystal, promotion of gender equality is one of the priority areas and a corporate social responsibility (CSR) value of paramount importance. The training participants were first introduced to the journey the company had to go through on the way to promoting this value. They were informed about what the gender landscape looks like in terms of Crystal management, employees and customers, and what the overall advantages of gender-diverse management and team are.
Female entrepreneurs from the regions represent the bulk of Crystal’s clientele. As such, a significant part of the training was devoted to studying their needs, challenges and perspectives. Furthermore, participants discussed how valuable and beneficial it is to increase women’s access to finance, offer them the right products, services or practical solutions and provide them with further support. It is noteworthy that alongside the employees, the training was also attended by the management of Crystal.
Crystal is a company focused on supporting women and driven with the mission to foster their economic empowerment. This meeting is another step forward, helping employees to deeply realize and fulfill this mission. The training is a sequel of the company’s efforts, spanning over numerous years”, stated Archil Bakuradze, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Crystal.
“As known, the world economy would grow 7% faster if women were involved in entrepreneurship the same manner as men are; So, for Crystal as a business company, it is crucially important to promote equal opportunities for women and men. Meanwhile, 60% of our customers are women, so in order to offer the right products and services, it is essential to thoroughly understand their needs and wants. And our employees should be more sensitive to the challenges faced by female clients”, noted Ilia Revia, Chief Executive Officer of Crystal.
Along with the theoretical part, the training also included group and interactive work. With the help of practical examples and role plays, more than 50 Crystal employees gained valuable insight on the importance of promoting and empowering women.
“By this training, we wanted to practically show to the participants that even by taking small but important, concrete steps it is possible to achieve gender equality and create equal opportunities for women and men. We are proud to be implementing the project side by side with the Asian Development Bank, since our unity makes us much stronger, “ stated Maya Kobalia, Head of the E&S Department of Crystal.
Supporting female entrepreneurs is one of cornerstones in the partnership between Crystal and the Asian Development Bank. In 2023, the company issued 25 million GEL (Georgian Lari) gender bonds in cooperation with ADB, in pursuit of increasing access to finance for female entrepreneurs and empowering female-owned SMEs. Setting the precedence in the South Caucasus, issuance of the gender bond was of great importance for the entire region.
Crystal is currently awaiting a banking license, meanwhile staying committed to strengthening the core CSR values. After transformation into a microbank, the company is determined to further support female entrepreneurs and enhance their access to finance.