Under our new project, “Accelerating Women’s Green Tech Startups in Uzbekistan“,  funded by The United Nations Democracy Fund, in June 18-20 we have organized workshops for women entrepreneurs in Nukus and Muynak.

Our first event, on June 18, was held for main project stakeholders in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Innovative Development, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, UNDP projects in Karakalpakstan, the International innovation center of the Aral Sea region, women entrepreneurs, representatives of NGOs and universities, active youth.

All stakeholders received information about the planned activities of the project for the growth of women’s startups, got acquainted with the results of a baseline survey conducted about startups and women’s entrepreneurship in Karakalpakstan, shared comments and opinions on the planned work of the project and the prospects for “cleantech” women-led business in the region.

On June 19, an interactive workshop Ideathon was held in Nukus, for everyone interested in the topic of women technological entrepreneurship in cleantech sphere. This workshop was attended by about 50 people.

Participants of the workshop (women entrepreneurs, teachers, students, media representatives) learned about the project plans for the next 2 years, and the criteria for the participation of startups in our acceleration program.  Women leaders, doing business in various spheres, shared their stories of starting a business.

We have also conducted an interactive exercise on brainstorming businesses ideas addressing social and climate problems of the region. Teams of participants presented many startup ideas on waste management, fish farms, water management, jobs creation and online platforms.

On June 20, interactive Ideation workshop was organized in Muynak. We met with stakeholders and women entrepreneurs of the city, shared project plans and also held an interactive session on brainstorming ideas for the development of women-led “green” entrepreneurship in the city.

In Muynak, there is a big problem with providing population with drinking water, jobs, and most of the ideas proposed by the participants of the seminar were related to water issues, sustainable tourism, waste processing and organic fertilizers.

Among future plans of our project is to launch a recruitment of mentors, who will participate in a special training program in July, and to announce a recruitment of women-led startups for the first acceleration cycle in August.

We thank the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan for assistance in organizing workshops and meetings, as well as our partner, Association for the Support of Children and Families (regional branch in the Republic of Karakalpakstan), the Agency for Youth Affairs of Karakalpakstan and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Karakalpakstan.

————-

About the project: The project “Accelerating Women’s Green Tech Startups in Uzbekistan“, is designed for 2 years and is implemented by Tech4Impact with the support of the United Nations Democracy Fund. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to conduct an acceleration program for 20 startup projects led by women from Nukus and Muynak in 2 years. 6 best startups will receive an investment of US $ 2,000.