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Mercy Corps' Commuinty Employement and Economic Opportunities Program (CEEOP), one Azerbaijan woman builds her business. Photo: Ramil Maharramov/ Mercy Corps
Although the collapse of the Soviet regime left many people in a state of financial disarray, some citizens in Azerbaijan took the opportunity to exercise their entrepreneurial initiatives to support themselves and their communities through these difficult times. Rahiba Soltanova from Mustafabeyli Village in the Saatli region is one of these people.
During the Soviet regime, Rahiba's husband held a high post at a prestigious government entity that allowed him to financially support the family of seven while Rahiba kept the household. The wave of unemployment as the Soviet regime collapsed, however, did not pass by the Soltanova's family. Like many others, her husband lost his job, leaving the family in a very difficult financial condition, and struggling to make ends meet. The initial two years after the collapse were especially difficult for Rahiba and her family.
An unlikely situation gave her the idea of opening her own business. Her husband's former employer used the Soltanova's house for disbursing government allowances to the elderly, children, and the disabled. Over 150 people came to her house every month to receive allowances, the majority being women. Through conversations with these women she learned of their interest to engage in poultry production in the spring, though they lacked the financial resources to proceed.
Utilizing her entrepreneurial spirit, Rahiba signed a contract with a nearby chicken incubator to buy 5,000 chickens. She purchased the chickens partly using her own credit, and the rest with cash from the women who were to become her partners. To make a profit, she then sold the chickens at a rate 20 percent higher then she originally bought them for from the chicken incubator. The other women supported this initiative because it decreased their costs. She purchased the 5,000 chickens for 800 Man and sold them for 1,000 Man to those who paid cash, and 1,200 Man to ones that bought the chickens on credit. This influx of chickens in her community created another opportunity for Rahiba as people keeping chickens required chicken feed and medicine. To expand her business to include feed and medicines, she and the other women applied for and received a small loan from FINCA.
The main obstacle she faced in creating a sustainable business was her lack of formal business training. Rahiba learned about the Mercy Corps' Commuinty Employement and Economic Opportunities Program (CEEOP) through a billboard advertising of CEEOP's Business Development Services in the Saatli market. Rahiba was especially interested in individual business consultation. She passed on the information to the other women and they then decided to apply for a formal business consultation from CEEOP Business Consultants. The CEEOP consultants provided them training in record keeping, a crucial skill for improving their businesses. Rahiba also received a thorough financial analysis of her business from CEEOP consultants, which helped her to assess the current status of her business and make future plans that include CEEOP management training and starting her own broiler company to create jobs within her community.
Mercy Corps began its program in Azerbaijan in early 1997, reconstructing public buildings and providing internally displaced people with clothing and bedding. Soon, Mercy Corps was USAID's primary partner in Azerbaijan and an important colleague of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. A leader in umbrella grant management in Azerbaijan, Mercy Corps has facilitated programs that have provided shelter construction, health care, economic opportunities and community development.
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