As part of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the United States, the Governor of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Natia Turnava, took part in a high-level discussion organized by the World Bank that brought together female central bank governors and finance ministers from various countries.

According to the NBG, the meeting was also attended by Ekaterine Guntsadze, Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia.

The participants discussed current challenges and future prospects for expanding women’s participation in entrepreneurship, including improving access to banking services and financing through credit guarantee schemes, electronic payment instruments and capital co-financing mechanisms.

The discussion also covered the World Bank’s “Women Entrepreneurs’ Access to Finance Program.” Turnava noted that Georgia is ready to join the initiative and engage in active cooperation, having already received support from the program’s initiators.

Turnava highlighted that the National Bank has undertaken concrete steps to promote gender equality within the financial sector’s governance framework. Under the updated corporate governance codes, gender quotas for supervisory boards have been significantly expanded for both commercial banks and microbanks.

“We started with a 20% quota for commercial banks, which increased to 33% in 2023 and will reach 40% in June 2025. For microbanks, the target is 40% by July 2026. These measures aim to ensure not only women’s representation in management, but also their meaningful participation in key strategic decision-making processes,” Turnava said.

She added that women currently hold 54% of senior and middle management positions at the National Bank, and five out of nine members of the Bank’s Board are women.

According to the NBG, following the update of the corporate governance codes, women’s representation on supervisory boards has already increased from 9% to 37%.