OSCE-supported Entrepreneurship Support Centre in Kyrgyzstan opens in Issyk-Kul province

The fourth Entrepreneurship Support Centre (ESC) in Kyrgyzstan opened on 12 November 2019 in Karakol.

The ESC aims to provide local entrepreneurs with professional legal and business consultations as well as training courses on business management. It will also help strengthen dialogue between local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The new Centre in Karakol was opened by the Plenipotentiary Representation of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in Issyk-Kul province with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

The first ESC in Kyrgyzstan opened in 2017 in Osh city; with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). Followıng the positive results of the centre’s activities in Osh, two additional ESCs were established earlier this year in the cities of Jalal-Abad and Batken.

The network of ESCs (Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken, and Karakol) allows entrepreneurs to share their expertise and experiences.

Supporting SMEs in Kyrgyzstan is of vital importance as they generate about 40 per cent of the total gross domestic product and provide jobs to 20 per cent of the working-age population in the country.

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek places high importance on the implementation of the Government’s priorities in fostering economic development by supporting SMEs, which is in line with the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Kyrgyz Republic 2018–2040.