Bishkek, 17 November 2021 - Eight projects have been selected for the second round of grant up to 10,000 USD, supported by the United Nations Development Programme and STRIVE Asia, an EU-UNDP funded project and Supporting an Inclusive and Multi-Sectoral Response to COVID-19 and Addressing its Socio-Economic Impact in Kyrgyzstan, funded by Japan.

The eight projects were selected during the second round of grant support as part of the Janyration+ business project competition among young entrepreneurs. The project is implemented jointly with the ololo group of companies.

"Jaination+ gave us a lot of knowledge. We went through training sessions, as well as online learning sessions. I never thought that I would be involved in a business on such a scale. We studied many business models, and now we are creating an application with about 50 types of services," Elzar Abylkasymov, founder of the taxi service project, shared in his interview.

As part of Round A, 21 participants were given grants of up to USD 1,000 each to support business projects. This amount was given to allow entrepreneurs to test their minimum viable products (MVPs) to then distribute larger grants to scale up their businesses.

Round B took place on October 28th, during which participants presented the results of their work after receiving grants in the first round. The most successful projects ended up with larger grants of up to $10,000. Out of 21 participants supported in Round A, 8 projects were selected for Round B.

The following projects from the southern regions were approved by the selection committee for grants:

1. James Bond costumes (Nookat, Osh oblast) - rent of costumes and accessories

2. KIYIZGROUP (Novokat, Osh city) - accessories from artificial felt

3. Azamat Jailoobaev (Kok Serek village, Jalal-abad oblast) - Ala-Buka logistics centre

4. Bal Abay (Kerben village, Jalal-abad oblast) - beekeeping

5. Zhanara Lapazova (Kerben village, Jalal-abad oblast) - production of dumplings

6. Fakhriddin Kamilov (Kashkar-Kyshtak village, Osh oblast) - sewing workshop

7. Elzar Abylkasymov (Kerben village, Jalal-abad oblast) - taxi service

8. Eraly Madishov (Kerben village, Jalal-abad oblast) - drying prunes

The competition is a continuation of the Janyration initiative, with three phases held in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The first phase included visits to regions of the Kyrgyz Republic to identify young people interested in entrepreneurship and willing to receive further education in business planning, critical thinking and communication skills. The second phase of the project brought together 60 people in Bishkek for 4 days of "On the Limit" and "Design Thinking" courses. During the third phase, 40 participants were trained in Bishkek and Osh, and more than 10 projects received grant support for business development.

"This is an ongoing UNDP initiative aimed at increasing entrepreneurship among young people in rural areas of our country. Since 2018, more than 100 young entrepreneurs have been supported, resulting in 300 new jobs created across the country which is certainly a collaborative effort between national and local partners and business accelerators. It is certain that the new jobs will improve the well-being of young people and their families, and channel them into positive development.” commented Mukash Kaldarov, Senior Advisor  on Social Cohesion at UNDP Kyrgyzstan.

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Contacts for media: Nurzhan Alymkanova, communications specialist, nurzhan.alymkanova@undp.org 0555068833