EU NEIGHBOURS . On 13 November, Alla Soghomonyan, one of the grant winners of the EU4Youth project ‘Employability and Stability in Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine’ launched her new business, a bakery in the Arabkir district of Yerevan by turning her old garage into a beautiful shop.
Alla is 35, and the mother of three children. When her husband died, she found herself taking care of her children all alone, and without money to meet the most basic needs.
She had no idea how to manage the situation, until she took part in the project’s entrepreneurship component, which includes a business training course and individual consulting sessions. This helped her to discover the potential that she had, and she started to believe in herself and in the future she could create.
The idea of establishing a bakery was with her from the start. After receiving a grant of €4,000 in June, as a result of compitition among 14 business plans of other project participants, Alla finally opened her bakery, ‘AllSweet’ in November 2019.
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Speaking at the opening ceremony, Alla said: “I didn’t even believe there was such an incredible project that could have this huge influence on my life. I have a lot of difficulties in my life, my children and how to make ends meet for all of us. Now I have a great change in my life, change in the manner of thinking and acting, and I believe that my business will grow and become successful.”
Other grant winners were also present at the ceremony, including Arik, who set has up a dried fruit production, and provided dried fruits for treats, while Alla organised the catering.
The project aims to contribute to creating better prospects for employment and entrepreneurship for disadvantaged youth and increasing their active participation in the labour market in Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Photo: European Union
