The Government of Tajikistan aims to expand productive employment, increase agricultural production and market access, and raise rural incomes. In line with this mission, the joint Aga Khan Foundation and Aga Khan Economic Fund for Development initiative, Accelerate Prosperity (AP), inspires and funds entrepreneurs to improve the quality of their products and enter new markets. It offers incubation, acceleration programmes and investment and post-investment technical assistance to startups, creating social, environmental and economic growth.
By the end of 2022, Accelerate Prosperity had invested almost $5m in 292 small- and medium-sized enterprises. Over 1,600 projects have been incubated and almost 350 accelerated countrywide, creating jobs for nearly 1,000 people, half of whom are women.
Abdugaffor Najmiddinov, of Kisht, Khatlon, grows tomatoes and potatoes. He also produces juices and jams from local fruits and vegetables such as anzur onion, yellow and red cherry, mulberry and hawthorn. “The residents of our village get their harvest from the dehkan (family) farms and sell them for a very low price in the local market. I decided to process them and provide the locals with employment. This helps raise the price and generates more profit for local producers.”
”To improve the quality and volume of production, ease the physical labour work and satisfy the market needs to operate internationally, modern equipment is necessary. Therefore, we requested an investment loan from AP to buy this equipment. The investment has been very successful for our business. In previous years, we produced only three varieties, with six or seven thousand boxes, and now we produce 25-30 thousand boxes with nine types of products.”
Nasim Abdullahodzhaev from Dushanbe has been developing innovative IT projects since his first year of university, beginning with an online bookshop. In 2018, Nasim created BO/BO, a digital marketing studio which helps businesses build an online presence, create websites and integrate Customer Relationship Management platforms. “Our mission is to create more innovative companies by introducing new technologies to businesses.”
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