From Georgia to the World

My personal growth and career trajectory are both the result of almost 20 years of perpetual and tireless work. Each obstacle and challenge served as a prerequisite for further success. In many countries, as in Georgia, success for women has been associated with difficulties. Fortunately, today the situation has changed significantly and a woman as an entrepreneur, a woman as a business leader, and even a politician is already considered the norm. I am very happy with the fact that more and more successful women are becoming CEOs and now hold top positions at well-known companies.

I have been actively involved in business sectors such as education, tourism, medical tourism, despite my education received in the field of medicine. My career in business started in the field of education and I have been working in it since 2005. International Relations Centre (IRC), the company established by me, works in the field of education and tourism. I am happy that, with the help of IRC, young people can get qualifications in the leading universities of Georgia and foreigners are able to visit the most beautiful places of my country.

I have visited a lot of countries and have met government representatives and successful people in business, participated as a speaker in summits and forums worldwide. All these activities led me to the idea of creating the Georgia and Asia-Africa Chamber of Commerce, which is an ideal platform connecting Georgian and foreign business operators, while simultaneously raising awareness about my country and presenting investment potential in the Asian and African markets.

Today we all work together to break old stereotypes and expand the role of women, and because of  this, The Union of Business Ladies (UBL) was established by me. The modern world is quite competitive, so we need original, creative, outstanding women whose thinking goes beyond the traditional framework. UBL helps to represent and tell the story of the role of women. The main principle of my working process is properly planned management, sense of responsibility and an extra effort to make my organizations stand out in the market by way of quality, which is directly related to a high coefficient of credibility.

The career path I followed has not always been easy. While my education in medicine at the university was ongoing, the political situation in my country was quite tense. Georgia was facing a lot of challenges. The country was sacrificing a progressive thinking, open-minded generation with modern and democratic principles, among which would be successful managers and businessmen.

I have always considered myself as a good leader, successfully and effectively managing organizations. Along my career path, I met pessimism, mistrust, and suspicion from society. As I mentioned before, achieving career success for women is associated with difficulties and challenges, wherever in the world they may be. Fortunately, I had role model women in my life, who became sources of inspiration and motivation for me. Thanks to all this, I was able to live up to the motto I adopted – ‘never give up’.

As for people who are facing difficulties and challenges in their career development, I advise them to never give up, work hard, and try to stay motivated. When speaking about success and inspiration – internal motivation is key, because if you are not pushing yourself, who will?

Success is a constant journey through difficulties and challenges. When we stop moving forward, we fail.  Motivation, self-confidence, and purposefulness are the keys to victory and success. Years of experience working in different fields showed me, convinced me, and finally shaped my vision: do what you enjoy. Before you begin any job, study the case, gather a team of professional but trusted people. Loyalty and reliability are essential components of any initiation.

• The article was originally published in Career Ahead July 2021 issue.