DUSHANBE, October 12, 2015 – A Youth Entrepreneurship Forum involving around 200 young people took place in Dushanbe today with support from the World Bank Group, as part of the Government of Tajikistan’s National Entrepreneurship Week. The event aimed at increasing awareness on the importance of entrepreneurship for job creation and economic growth and exchanging ideas around entrepreneurship for youth in Tajikistan.
The event brought together young entrepreneurs, private companies, civil society organizations, development partners, World Bank Group experts, representatives from the Government of Tajikistan and participants from the Slovak Republic, invited to the event under the World Bank Group’s South-South Knowledge Exchange Initiative.
“Young people are eager to work and need good job opportunities. A society that can deliver these opportunities is promoting growth and investing in its welfare,” said Patricia Veevers-Carter, World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan. “The World Bank Group’s efforts in this area in Tajikistan are going to focus on helping youth develop skills and increase employment opportunities, as well as on assisting the Government in designing policies that help youth thrive.”
At the forum, international and local experts introduced key concepts of entrepreneurship such as how to set up and manage a business, how to make entrepreneurial decisions and identify new business opportunities. Representatives from private companies from Tajikistan and the Slovak Republic spoke about their experience of setting up a business and discussed with young entrepreneurs what makes entrepreneurship work at the individual and company levels. A special session led jointly by officials from the Secretariat of Consultative Council on Improvement Investment Climate under the President of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic focused on those policy measures that are required to foster youth entrepreneurship, as well as on ways to better bridge the skills gap by linking the private sector with education institutions.
The participants explored business and entrepreneurship education opportunities offered by local and international civil society organizations, development partners and local associations and companies featured at a special fair as part of the forum. The forum is followed by a master class on October 13 for start-up businesses wishing to receive individual business advice from successful entrepreneurs from Tajikistan and the Slovak Republic.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Forum is sponsored by the World Bank Group office in Tajikistan and the Leadership, Learning and Innovation Vice-Presidency of the World Bank Group. It is organized in partnership with the State Investment and State Property Management Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Secretariat of Consultative Council on Improvement Investment Climate under the President of Tajikistan.
The event is part of the World Bank Group financed Central Asia Youth Empowerment and Jobs Project, which aims to improve the business climate and foster youth entrepreneurship in Tajikistan through capacity building of state entities and skills training for youth.
The World Bank’s active portfolio in Tajikistan includes 24 projects (including regional projects and Trust Funds) with a net commitment of US$ 383 million that aim to support economic growth through private sector development, while investing in better public services for people, such as education, health, municipal services and social protection.
