Embracing Green Entrepreneurship: a case of Uzbekistan. A Pathway towards more Sustainable Future (Part 2)

Photo by Giovane Siqueira de Moraes from Burst

By the time, Uzbekistan is planning to home foreign IT firms, individual remote IT-specialists and other potential IT-sphere workers from around the world, as it has right atmosphere for entrepreneurs to work from there. In Economically, Uzbekistan is welcoming innovation by creating free trade rules in the markets as well as through supporting green entrepreneurship initiatives by lending huge sums with low interest rates exclusively for small and middle sized businesses. Additionally, governments has officially announced national motive for 2024 as a year of developing entrepreneurship and maintaining it, demonstrating the importance of support of entrepreneurship as one of the strategic goals. Moreover, unemployment level has reached historically low rates as can be seen from the line graph provided which is the result of the relentless support from governments help, train, educate and find jobs vacancies. Additionally, in 5th March 2024, in Tashkent the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a Business Support Project aimed to fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Uzbekistan. This initiative’s primary objectives include  providing investment for private sector growth, focusing primarily to sustainable businesses to access finance. USAID plans give $17.7 million in the next five years period, contributing environment-care and innovation in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, Uzbekistan’s transition into a green economy by 2030 named as National Green Economy Strategy plan emphasizes to achieve energy efficiency, promoting green investment, and creating new enterprises aligned with green criteria mainly by state incentives and cooperation with international economic partners; indicating clear strategic plan to transit current production into green model in the coming six years. Apart from these, Uzbekistan is working tightly with UN projects such as UNDP’s Green Growth Strategic Framework initiative and the Project for Agri-Business. If latter program encourages green development in the Republic by capacity building, policy fixations, and green finance; the former does support green entrepreneurship through empowering young women and making economies more competitive.

FIGURE 3: MAP OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

This map is based on the map of the ecosystem in Santiago Chile. The methodology has been developed by MIT in the US and identifies institutions related to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Uzbekistan, their importance, and the links between them. Find it here:  https://kumu.io/btleuli/uzbt

Results

This study illuminates the close exposure of Green Entrepreneurship in case of Uzbekistan, highlighting multifaceted role of transitioning into more sustainable economy. A special analysis of how the country’s booming economic development is executed by the government and what new legislatures are being validated was showed. So, after careful considerations of still developing aspects of the economy as well as already formed sides of the operating system, it can be inferred that the country has immense potential for the future. The past economical and social reforms to strengthen its stance in the past decades, current maintenance for especially youth development by the state, and also future strategic plans for more resilient economy guarantee the country’s future success in the global scale. Apart from these, with the diverse natural resources and vibrant increasing population the country is in the crossroads to fully embrace green entrepreneurial practices. It can also learn from the other leaders of its region, for example from Kazakhstan, which has adapted the green way according the region’s standards, that offers an organized roadmap for the goal. All in all, the country has certain distinctive advantages compared to its peer economies, the main one is its innovative young layer population, next goes the its rich land minerals, dynamic foreign investment, and finally strategic government initiatives. In summary, the findings of the conducted research persuade the green entrepreneurship is not only the way to preserve the global resilience but a transformative chance to catch up other leading economies. Strategic steps taken by whole economy will inevitably work for the development of the society and an economy as together.

References

United Nations Common Country Analysis: Uzbekistan: https://uzbekistan.un.org/en/126438-united-nations-common-country-analysis-uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan plans to join WTO by 2026: https://www.gazeta.uz/en/2024/05/30/wto/

Uzbekistan: Unemployment rate from 2004 to 2023, World Bank: https://www.statista.com/statistics/809064/unemployment-rate-in-uzbekistan/

U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan; USAID Launches a New Project to Support Businesses in Uzbekistan: https://uz.usembassy.gov/new-project-to-support-businesses-in-uzbekistan/

Strategy for the transition of the Republic of Uzbekistan to a Green economy in the period of 2019-2030. https://leap.unep.org/en/countries/uz/national-legislation/strategy-transition-republic-uzbekistan-green-economy-period-2019

GREEN GROWTH STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK - United Nations Development Programme https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-12/Final%20GGSF%20071222_FINAL_Clean.docx-2.pdf

 Transforming the future of agri-business in Uzbekistan by empowering women entrepreneurs: https://www.undp.org/uzbekistan/stories/transforming-future-agri-business-uzbekistan-empowering-women-entrepreneurs