LocationsBest business projects of Yangiabad and Charkesar receive small grants for development purposes
November 27, 2023
Based on the competition results, eight project received financing to expand businesses at the uranium legacy territories, namely in Yangiabad and Charkesar.
The call for business proposals had been announced by the EU-funded UNDP and MES project with the aim to create job opportunities and support entrepreneurship development at the uranium legacy sites.
This year, we received 22 proposals. They were assessed according to the following criteria: number of jobs to be created, specific experience in the sphere, innovation, demand on the products/services in the local market, and opportunities to scale-up.
Based on these criteria, the panel selected eight projects in the field of alternative energy for electric cars and kindergartens, clothing and bakery production, hospitality business, production of dried fruits, herbal teas and beekeeping products.
“Almost all residents in Charkesar are engaged in gardening and sell fruits at very low prices during the season,” says Kamara Zhailobova, one of the grant competition winners. “We want to package the fruits grown in Charkesar and sell them on the domestic market first, and then start exporting them. I see great potential among the residents of my village, therefore, having made a good profit, I want to teach those interested how to start a business from scratch, how to package and create a quality product for the domestic and foreign markets.”
Kamara started her business by selling kurt (fermented milk product) and today exports it to Kazakhstan. As the winner of the competition, Kamara was provided with received a vacuum and automatic packaging equipment. Now, thanks to the equipment, Kamara will be able to expand her business by packaging and selling dried fruits, seeds, nuts and other products.
Earlier, another eight projects from Charkesar and Yangiabad also received funding for business development, which made it possible to provide residents of the uranium legacy areas with new products/services on the market and create additional jobs.
The “Stakeholder engagement for uranium legacy remediation in Central Asia. Phase II” is a joint project of UNDP, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, OSCE, funded by the European Union. The project's activities are aimed at reducing the negative impact of uranium waste on people and the environment through raising awareness among the population and supporting socially oriented projects in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
