Uzbekistan to send targeted loans to support youth startups

Uzbekistan has approved a new decree aimed at creating a sustainable system of support for youth entrepreneurship and promoting employment among citizens aged 18 to 30 years. Cabinet document No. 426 of July 10, 2025 lays down the regulatory and financial framework for the large-scale launch of startups creating innovative products and services, and also provides for the creation of a digital platform for managing the program.

According to the approved regulations, the source of funding is the State Trust Fund for the Development of Youth Entrepreneurship, which operates under the Agency for Youth Affairs. The most important tool will be the system of lending through commercial banks. The procedure includes preliminary consideration of applications, transfer of funds to banks and subsequent provision of borrowed funds to young entrepreneurs on terms differentiated by project type.

The amount of loans provided varies from 100 million to 2.5 billion soums, depending on the specifics of the activity. In addition to direct lending, the program provides for partial reimbursement of expenses up to 50 percent in two key areas::
- Attraction of international and local mentors, experts and trainers — up to 100 million soums;
- Participation in foreign acceleration and incubation programs — up to 10 thousand US dollars.

A list of remote and hard-to-reach areas has also been defined, where loans of up to 320 basic calculation units will be allocated for the development of educational services, including foreign language teaching.

Digitalization will be a key element of the reform: by the end of 2025, there will be a single electronic platform for automating the application process, tracking the status of projects and monitoring the effectiveness of support programs. This solution will increase transparency, reduce administrative barriers, and speed up young people's access to resources.

The implementation of this initiative opens up additional opportunities for the development of the national innovation ecosystem. Given the growing interest in entrepreneurship among young people, the government is striving not only to provide access to financial instruments, but also to create a full-fledged infrastructure for mentoring, sharing experience and scaling ideas.