Investing in Young Entrepreneurs in the Kyrgyz Republic
Read All PostsNurturing entrepreneurship is considered vital to the Kyrgyz Republic’s economic growth, particularly among young people who possess the creativity and drive required yet lack the essential knowledge to develop and pursue business ideas.
Seventeen-year-old Bekjan Japiev seized his chance to learn the basic skills needed to launch an enterprise through a USAID-supported Business Compass initiative introduced at his school in Jalal-Abad, a city of 89,000 in the southwestern region of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Through the initiative, the 11th-grader, along with 350 other youth enrolled as ‘StartUp’ members, participated in trainings on business planning, marketing, time management, financial literacy, effective communication, team building, and more. The comprehensive business incubator trainings were made possible through Jasa.kg, a four-year program of the International Youth Foundation supported by the US Agency for International Development.
Today, Bekjan says enrolling in the training was one of the most important decisions of his life. He was appointed coordinator of StartUp Club #19, one of 28 similar clubs established at secondary schools in Kara-Balta, Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Bishkek new settlements.
Bekjan was then selected, along with 35 other StartUp members, to participate in a short-term summer business incubator, which included training on the qualities of effective business leaders, identifying a successful business idea, and promoting and staffing a new enterprise. That program was followed by two weeks of hands-on business training and a camp focused on the automation and scaling up of production.
Well-equipped with the knowledge they needed, Bejkan and his team from the StartUp Club then took steps toward launching their own business to manage school events. The group organized film screenings, recreational activities, business camps, and trainings for their fellow students. Their big success came, however, through the development of a small enterprise devoted to producing and selling sunflower seeds. After a year of applying their knowledge—and learning from their mistakes—Bekjan and his team are now successfully selling seeds at stores in Jalal-Abad, generating a monthly profit up to 20,000 som, or US$390.
In recognition of its success at sustaining a business over time, StartUp Club #19 was recognized as one of the two best clubs of 2013 by the Instream Public Foundation, which led the trainings. Together, the group was awarded 3,000 som (US$58) to support its work. In all, more than 350 youth like Bekjan have benefited from entrepreneurship trainings through Jasa.kg.