Tashkent hosted a roundtable discussion on “Prospects for the development of women’s entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan” as part of the WAGE (Women And Girls Empowered) program.

“The regional program has been operating since April 2021, bringing together women’s business associations and public organizations to identify and eliminate legal and social barriers that prevent women from participating in the economy in Central Asia”, said Malika Muqimova, National WAGE Program Coordinator in Uzbekistan. – In Uzbekistan, the program has been implemented since the beginning of 2022 in cooperation with the British Management University and Tashkent State University of Law. As a result of this cooperation, an expert council was formed to develop women’s entrepreneurship in our country. The advisory board currently consists of representatives from 27 organizations, including business associations, women entrepreneurs, civil society representatives, academic institutions and think tanks.

During the year, based on the British Management University, an expert council conducted research with the participation of women entrepreneurs, representatives of international organizations, civil society, gender experts and other stakeholders. In the second stage of the study, members of the expert council held consultative meetings with about 700 women from different regions of the country.

Based on the results of the consultative meetings, the council developed the National Agenda for Women’s Entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan and defined four priority areas for the formation of recommendations to overcome the barriers defined by women entrepreneurs in the research process.

The main goal of this program is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations, the private sector, including women’s business associations in Central Asia in support and empowerment of women’s economic rights, as well as to increase the effectiveness of existing programs to ensure gender equality and combat gender violence.

UzA