BISHKEK (TCA) — The Entrepreneurship Support Centre (ESC) in Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second largest city, marked its first anniversary on December 4, in a celebration organized by the Centre together with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek. The mission of the ESC is to provide information and consulting support to entrepreneurs, as well as to form, prepare and promote high-quality business initiatives for the development of entrepreneurship in the Osh region.
The special occasion was attended by representatives of the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Osh region, the Agency for the Promotion and Protection of Investments of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Southern Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Regional Council of Entrepreneurs, the Osh-JIA Business Association (Association of Young Entrepreneurs), the Inspectorate for Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Security under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Customs Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Regional Investment Council under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (RIC), the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Osh, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the German development agency (GIZ), as well active entrepreneurs of the region and media representatives.
“The Centre was established on the basis of a public-private partnership. A number of state and municipal services for businesses are available thanks to the ESC,” said Iskender Subankulov, the director of the ESC in Osh. According to him, the Centre has consulted over 450 entrepreneurs since its opening. He noted that the ESC plans to develop a series of TV programmes about business in the region. The ESC also plans to further co-operate with the Congress of Women of Kyrgyzstan on teaching women the basics of business planning, as well as opening youth business clubs for training and mentoring start-up entrepreneurs.
“The Entrepreneurship Support Centre serves as a ‘synergy point’ to simplify business procedures and obtain the public services necessary to implement projects. This is an additional opportunity to stimulate business activity in the region,” said Kalys Khasanova, National Programme Officer in the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.
The ESC was established in 2017 on the basis of a Memorandum between the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Osh region, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, the Agency for Promotion and Protection of Investments of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Osh JIA business association (Association of Young Entrepreneurs), GIZ and UNDP.
