Shaki is known as the ‘the city of crafts’ for good reason. For centuries, this city in the north-west of Azerbaijan has been home to artists, craftspeople and merchants plying their skills and trades in the production and selling of headscarves (kelaghayi), silk carpets, painting, wood carving, ceramics and coppersmithery.

From the village of Mukhakh in the Zaqatala district in north-western Azerbaijan, Tahmina Isayeva started a small business drying fruits a few months before COVİD-19 hit the world.

More and more women in Azerbaijan are interested in entrepreneurship. But often they don’t have the resources, knowledge or financial support necessary to turn their ideas into reality, or to expand an existing business.

From fitness to poultry and beauty, women from different regions of Azerbaijan changed professions in order to see their dreams fulfilled. Each of the women who started their own business had been mulling over her idea for many years.

Yagut Akhmedova, from the village of Zeynaddin in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, has a talent for drawing since childhood. When she was in school, it took her only four years instead of the usual six to complete a course in drawing, and she graduated with honours.