In Uzbekistan, every minister, industry chief, and province governor is set to launch a new initiative titled "1,000 Solutions from the Youth for 1,000 Problems." The program was announced during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s meeting with young people Tuesday.
"We plan to expand our economy beyond 240 billion US dollars by 2030," the head of state noted. "To achieve this, we need innovative startups that bring fresh ideas to every sector."
Over the past nine years, the local startup ecosystem has grown 15-fold, reaching a value of over 4 billion dollars. The number of venture capital funds has climbed to 23, with their collective capital reaching 200 million dollars. During this period, more than 1,200 promising startup projects emerged, allowing over 3,000 young professionals to earn high incomes. The president emphasized that this sector still holds immense untapped potential.
Moving forward, every minister, sector chief, and governor will spearhead the "1,000 Solutions from the Youth for 1,000 Problems" initiative. Under this framework, each leader will post pressing problems within their system onto an open platform and announce rewards for the best solutions. To support this, every minister and governor will establish a venture fund worth at least 10 billion soums. These funds will be used to reward competition winners and fully finance the end-to-end implementation—from concept to execution—of the top 20 startups.
Additionally, the Youth Affairs Agency will select 100 outstanding projects in business, IT, and the creative economy to receive investments of up to 1 billion soums each.
The meeting also highlighted the introduction of "professional vouchers" for young people who already have a trade but want to acquire new skills tailored to international standards. Furthermore, a "Guaranteed First Step" support package will be introduced to assist vulnerable youth who fall outside the standard social registry. This includes young individuals who lack parental care, those returning from military service, returning migrants, former inmates, and youth with physical disabilities.
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