BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 18. A new 18 million pounds worth regional program to support SME development over a five year period is currently being designed, British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Timothy Smart told Trend.
"It will aim to support 1,800 start-ups and SMEs in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan through providing targeted business advisory support and offering innovative growth finance to those with the highest potential, along with offering policy support to facilitate creation of enabling environment for investment finance," he said.
According to the ambassador, the program aims also to improve the capability of businesses by providing access to Business Development Services (BDS) support. This enables SMEs to innovate, improve management, scale up and access investment.
Further speaking, Ambassador Smart noted that the UK supports the improvement of economic governance in Uzbekistan through its 25 million pounds worth flagship regional Effective Governance for Economic Development program.
"This is designed to provide technical assistance to partner-governments over five years. The program aims to improve economic policy performance in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan as well, by embedding evidence-informed processes into government reform planning and implementation. EGED also supports civil society in these countries to hold governments to account on economic policy outcomes, engaging media, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, business associations, and others," he explained.
Areas of engagement that intend to support more stable, open and transparent delivery of economic policies in Uzbekistan include such sectors as labor and employment, public procurement, transformation of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), decarbonization, and e-commerce, the ambassador added.
In addition to the bilateral engagement with Uzbekistan, the UK is also a contributor to wider regional initiatives to support the generation of green energy through Casa 1,000 project (a $1.16 billion project currently under construction that will allow for the export of surplus hydroelectricity).