Women’s Initiatives: business acceleration program for women entrepreneurs in Fergana Valley

On March 14, 2023 the «Demo-day» of the Business-acceleration programme for women took place in the city of Fergana, organized with the support of UNDP in Uzbekistan.

This event is the final stage of the acceleration programme demonstrating the results. For more than three months, 85 women from three Fergana Valley regions have participated in the acceleration programme. As part of it a series of trainings, seminars and webinars were organized and conducted, with an aim to develop entrepreneurial skills of the participants of the acceleration programme.

The participants got an access to training materials, consultations, and mentoring sessions, which would help them to develop and successfully manage their businesses. The programme also promotes networking among women entrepreneurs, which can lead to new opportunities for collaboration and business development.

According to the results of the acceleration programme, its participants developed their business projects and presented them to a specially created selection commission, which, through evaluation of all business projects selected 18 best participants of the acceleration programme. At the «Demo-day» these selected participants held an exhibition of their own production and presented their business projects.

By the end of «Demo-day» 18 selected participants of the acceleration programme were awarded with grant equipment that will allow them to optimize their business processes and improve the quality of their products and services.

The event was attended by Nozim Khusanov, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction, and Nika Saeedi, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Uzbekistan, who expressed their support and recognized the importance of such programmes for women entrepreneurs.

The programme participants expressed their gratitude to the organizers and mentors for their support and assistance in the development of their business. They also noted that the received grant equipment will help them implement their plans and take their businesses to a new level. They stressed that they would use all the knowledge and opportunities gained through the programme to succeed in their businesses, especially digital marketing skills allowing them to promote their products via online platforms.

The Business-acceleration programme for women in the Fergana Valley is another example of how UNDP and the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction work to benefit women entrepreneurs and help them achieve success in their business initiatives.

This initiative is implemented within the framework of the joint project of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan and UNDP «Adapting population skills to the post-pandemic economy in Fergana Valley».

November 2022- February 2023

Program Site: startup4ayollar.uz