Yesterday, the final competition to select the best startup projects of Karakalpakstan was held at the Youth Affairs Agency. This year from January to March, with the support of the UNDP in Uzbekistan in partnership with the Agency for Youth Affairs in Karakalpakstan, and in close cooperation with the Territorial Department of the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, a training course on the basics of entrepreneurship and startup initiatives for young people aged 18-30 from Kungrad, Muynak, Bozatau districts was organized.

72 participants of the course studied the basics of implementing innovative ideas and startup projects in such areas as information technology, economics, social initiatives, tourism, regional climate change, and they also analyzed how to identify their target audience. Throughout the educational process, participants had the opportunity to receive information support from qualified mentors who pointed out the shortcomings of the project and suggested ways to improve them for further presentation at the competition before the jury.

The course programme also included thematic online meetings, master classes with the participation of experienced entrepreneurs, consultations from specialized expert mentors and individual business mentors on the preparation of business plans and the practical implementation of startups.

At the final stage of the competition for innovative startups designed to improve the lives of rural residents of the Aral Sea region, 16 teams presented their work, each of which came up with one project. According to the results of the jury voting, 6 teams with the following startup projects became finalists:

• “Bilim” Language School for teaching various languages in Karakalpak;
• A Plant of Programmers - a mobile platform for teaching programming from scratch;
• Improvement of water technology - obtaining water from groundwater using the alternative energy sources;
• Bookies - a platform for audiobooks;
• Manufacture of leather goods;
• Production of paving stones from recycled PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles
• Asu-bracket - production of briquettes from sawdust, dried grass, husks of plant seeds and various waste.

The winners will receive financial or technical support within the framework of the UNDP, UNFPA, FAO Joint Programme "Unleashing young people’s and vulnerable citizens’ creativity and innovation by strengthening their adaptive capacity to address the economic and food insecurities in the exposed communities of the Aral Sea region", funded by the UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region in Uzbekistan.

One of the goals of the UNDP, UNFPA, FAO Joint Programme is to improve the livelihoods of the population, support young people through the implementation of innovations, promotion of smart and digital technologies, startup and business initiatives, vocational training and the development of entrepreneurial skills, job creation in Karakalpakstan. The programme has been implemented since 2021 with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction in the Republic of Uzbekistan.