Project Summary:

The project, financed by the Government of Finland, supports inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Central Asia by promoting green value chains, trade integration, and competitiveness. It builds on the results of previous phases, with a strong focus on enhancing productive capacities, creating decent and green jobs, and strengthening resilience to external shocks, including the impacts of COVID-19. Special emphasis is placed on promoting women’s and youth’s economic empowerment, regional cooperation, and harnessing opportunities from digitalization and e-commerce.

Main objectives:

• Foster regional cooperation and integration into regional and global green value chains.

• Strengthen efficiency, competitiveness, and export-readiness of value chains in agriculture, agro-industry, and other employment-rich green sectors.

• Promote digital trade, e-commerce, and innovative trade intelligence solutions for SMEs.

• Enhance women’s and youth’s entrepreneurship and participation in trade.

Expected results:

• Strengthened regional cooperation and integration into global and regional markets.

• Increased competitiveness and productivity of SMEs and green value chains, with at least 1,500 new/maintained green jobs created.

• Expanded export contracts of up to $300 million in supported value chains.

• Enhanced use of digital tools, e-commerce, and big data for trade intelligence by SMEs.

• Greater participation of women and youth in entrepreneurship, with at least 15% of project resources dedicated to their empowerment.