Young entrepreneurs to be supported with soft loans in Uzbekistan

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, speaking at a meeting with young people, announced the launch of large-scale initiatives to support young entrepreneurs. As reported by "Ferghana " with reference to the press secretary of the President Sherzod Asadov, the relevant documents have already been signed.

Youth Entrepreneurship Development Fund established

The Agency for Youth Affairs has established a fund with a capital of $100 million. These funds will be used for issuing soft loans of up to 2.5 billion soums ($192 thousand), as well as for investments in start-up projects-up to 2 billion soums ($154 thousand).

Support for the employment of university graduates

The President noted that about 90 thousand university graduates face difficulties in finding a job. To solve this problem, the National Bank has been allocated $100 million. In partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, banking programs will be launched to enable young professionals to turn their ideas into businesses. Employment commissions will also be created in the regions, which will include officials, bankers and business representatives.

Launch of Molodezhny Bank

By presidential decree, Alokabank has been transformed into a "youth bank", whose task will be to support startups. The bank will offer micro-loans of up to 100 million soums ($7.7 thousand) for a period of seven years.

Preferential loans for entrepreneurs

Young businessmen who employ at least 20 people and organize a training center will be able to get preferential loans of up to 5 billion soums ($385 thousand) for seven years. At the same time, 30% of these funds will be directed to the development of women's entrepreneurship.

Creation of youth business incubators

There will be "youth business incubators" in the regions, where ideas will be turned into startups and developed to the stage of a full-fledged business. For this purpose, the Aloqa Venture Fund will allocate from $50 thousand to $1 million, helping young entrepreneurs enter the market and find partners.

Fighting youth unemployment

The state allocated 126 trillion soums ($9.7 billion) for professional and language training programs to employ young people in high-paying positions. Tax incentives have also been introduced for employers: companies that pay young employees a salary of 3 million soums ($230) per month will pay a social tax of only 1% for three years.

Development of the creative economy

Mirziyoyev stressed the importance of creative industries, where young people play a leading role. The first "Creative Park" will appear in Tashkent, which will become a model for the regions. Its residents will be granted tax incentives until the end of 2030, and business schools will be opened on the basis of organizations that teach promising areas, such as e-commerce.

The President stressed that the time has come to update the Youth Notebook program, entrusting the responsible departments with large-scale tasks to support young people.