Inna Arzumanyan, a pastry chef and beneficiary of the humanitarian project “Support for Artsakh Businesses” under the “Menq & Moonq” program, is originally from Krasni village in the Askeran region of Artsakh. Inna has been working as a pastry chef for 12 years and was well-known in Stepanakert. Every morning, she would travel from her village to the capital to prepare her famous pastries. She recalls being amazed by the sheer number of orders, wondering where so many birthdays and joyful events were coming from. However, everything changed after the 2020 war. After being forcibly displaced, Inna moved to Goris with her family and, like many others, had to start over from scratch.
Inna recalls that in Artsakh, her customers were already familiar with the exceptional taste of her creations. However, in Goris, she faces challenges in building a new customer base. “There are no large pastry businesses here, the market is small, and most homemakers bake for their own families,” she explains.
Despite this, Inna doesn’t give up. In her small, bright kitchen, she continues to make her famous baklava and walnut cakes, hoping to regain the popularity she once enjoyed in Stepanakert.
Recently, she became a beneficiary of the “Menq & Moonq” humanitarian program and participated in the “Support for Artsakh Businesses” initiative, which included online courses on marketing, branding, sales planning, and the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. With the help of the program’s professional experts, she gained valuable knowledge about branding, accounting basics, and business management nuances.
In addition to the courses, Inna Arzumanyan debuted her famous baklava for the first time at the New Year’s fair held in Goris in December 2024.
The Menq & Moonq program is financed by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) in partnership with Sign of Hope (SoH). The project is implemented by the Development Principles NGO.