National SDG Coordinator Mr. Aleinik, 

Excellencies,

Distinguished colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am glad to join you today at this thematic meeting of the National Council for Sustainable Development dedicated to the International Day of Families and the Year of Belarusian Women.

This is an occasion to reflect on women’s role in shaping families, strengthening communities, and contributing to the future of societies.

As UNDP, we believe that women’s economic empowerment is essential. When we empower a woman economically, we empower a family. When families thrive, nations prosper.

Across the world, we see women building businesses that create jobs, women leading institutions through change, women bringing new solutions to the challenges of our time.

The message that UNDP champions globally is that development does not move forward without women’s leadership. 

Belarus has strong foundations in this regard and has made significant progress in supporting women in the economy. Women here are highly educated, professionally accomplished, and increasingly present as local development leaders. Today, more than 40 percent of entrepreneurs in Belarus are women. They are mothers, daughters, and sisters who are making their own families more prosperous and resilient, while creating opportunities for others. 

At the same time, we know that talent and ambition, important as they are, do not always translate into real pathways to success.

Making that possible requires an environment where women can develop ideas with confidence, access the resources, and build businesses within systems that recognize and support their leadership. 

UNDP has been working with Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, local authorities, and many other partners in Belarus to advance responsive policies and inclusive institutions for women’s economic empowerment. These efforts contributed to the implementation of National Action Plans for Gender Equality.

Behind every policy or law there are real people and real lives. Jointly with partners, we piloted new approaches  based on systematic gender analysis to support national strategic planning. We also collected more than 1,300 entrepreneurial voices and stories from women and men across the country - insights that helped shape  Belarus’ next cycle of entrepreneurship programmes.  

This work on policies and frameworks is closely connected to what we do on the ground.

Through our local economic development initiatives, since 2020 UNDP has reached more than 20,000 people, including over 11,000 women who strengthened entrepreneurial skills, developed business ideas, and turned ambition into action. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many women-led businesses in services, education, and retail faced unprecedented uncertainty. UNDP worked with 400 women entrepreneurs across Belarus, supporting them with business continuity, crisis adaptation, and digital sales skills.

This period made one thing very clear: the future of entrepreneurship is increasingly digital. For women in particular, digital tools are opening new pathways to economic leadership by reducing geographical barriers, expanding access to markets, and enabling more flexible business models.

This is why digital entrepreneurship has since become an integral part of UNDP’s capacity-building efforts, helping women entrepreneurs not only adapt to change, but also succeed within it.

We also know that entrepreneurship is not driven by skills and finance alone. It is equally shaped by confidence, networks, and access to peer support.

Together with the Ministry of Economy, UNDP has supported a mentorship programme for women entrepreneurs from Belarus’ regions. What began as a targeted initiative for business support is now evolving into something broader — a growing network of role models, mentors, and women leaders who support and inspire one another.

We are also seeing this approach extend beyond the programme itself, as business support centers increasingly integrate mentorship into their own tools for strengthening women’s entrepreneurship.

Dear colleagues and partners,

At UNDP, we are convinced that investing in women is one of the smartest investments in sustainable development.

On a day dedicated to families, it is especially important to remember that empowering women does not strengthen only individual women. It strengthens families and communities - and it strengthens the future of Belarus.

UNDP remains committed to continuing this journey together with our national partners and with women across the country — so that every woman with an idea and courage to innovate has every opportunity to do so.

Thank you very much.