On May 26, 2022, in the building of the Monocenter "Ishga Markhamat" in Bukhara, on the sidelines of the International Forum on Poverty Reduction, an open discussion was organized on the topic "Expanding economic opportunities for rural women" with the participation of representatives of ministries, government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, as well as women and youth.
The purpose of the discussion is to discuss the issues of the formation of sustainable entrepreneurial skills and knowledge in women, creating the necessary business environment to increase their employability, and thus reduce inequality, ensure inclusive, innovative and sustainable economic growth and job creation.
The discussion, moderated by UNDP Program Manager Bakhodir Bekov, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the State Committee for Women and Family Affairs Zulaikho Makhkamova, Head of Labor Protection Department of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan Nodira Gaibnazarova, World Bank Social Development Specialist Rano Tlepova, World Bank Social Security Specialist Marina Novikova, Director of the Study Center for women and youth “Face to face with yourself” Dilfuza Komil, an entrepreneur from Bukhara Madina Mukhamedova, UNDP task manager Usmon Rakhimdjanov and others.
During the round table, Rano Tlepova shared information about the launch of the World Bank-funded project “Economic Empowerment of Rural Women”.
Usmon Rakhimjanov spoke about the opportunities provided by the UNDP project for women and youth from rural areas: digital skills training, start-ups and entrepreneurship.
Representative of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan Nodira Gaibnazarova spoke about the Trade Unions Strategy for a fair transition to an environmentally sustainable economy through the creation of "green" jobs, as well as work to further enhance the role and prestige of our country in the world community, the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with foreign countries and international organizations to create fit working conditions for workers.
Round table participant, winner of the Startup Initiatives support program, entrepreneur from Bukhara Madina Mukhamedova spoke about her startup “Air Insole”. She shared that she applied for various competitions and programmes 9 times before she raised the first funds for her project, as she was convinced that the project to create specialized shoes for diabetics is relevant and useful for society. In Start-up initiatives programme she received a grant of 50 million soums, at a start-up competition from the Ministry of Innovative Development she won a grant of 1.2 billion soums, later she got another 350 million soums. Nowadays, Madina is implementing her project.
This discussion was held on the sidelines of the Uzbekistan International Forum on Poverty Reduction with the assistance of a joint project of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UNDP joint project “Empowering the youth to embrace the digital economy and digital entrepreneurship”.
