The investment forum that took place in the northern city of Guliston on November 24 discussed why a brand is needed, how to create a brand and bring it to a market, what you need to make your product appear on the shelves of foreign shops and why an entrepreneur must think extraordinarily.
Organized by Accelerate Prosperity and dedicated to development of domestic brand, the forum, dubbed Investor Forum 2022: MADE IN TJ, reportedly brought together representatives of government bodies, institutional investors, entrepreneurs from all regions of the country, experts and opinion leaders.
The forum organizers have outlined three main objectives of the forum: 1) telling about activities of Accelerate Prosperity and new opportunities offered by the Fund to support small and medium-sized businesses; 2) increasing the interest of representatives of the private sector in certain topics about which there may not yet be sufficient awareness, and 3) attracting foreign investors to the country.
Head of Accelerate Prosperity in Tajikistan, Mr. Roziq Chorshanbiyev, in particular, noted that good and promising projects, transparent business and discipline are needed for the investor to come to Tajikistan, and “in this context we see a special role for Accelerate Prosperity.”
“In addition to supporting, stimulating and mentoring a start-up and existing business, Accelerate Prosperity acts as a shareholder in projects becoming an intermediary between a domestic entrepreneur and a foreign partner and helping attract investments,” Chorshanbiyev said.
“We are confident that within the next five years we will be able to grow 20-30 worthy companies, which are not ashamed to present at the world level. We have all necessary to do this: opportunities; experience; and established contacts with investors from different countries,” he added.
Mr. Kishwar Abdulalishoyev, Director of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Tajikistan, noted that exports are a necessity especially for developing countries.
“Two factors are necessary for the development of the economy and market of our country: population and purchasing power. Unfortunately, so far we cannot boast of either of them,” said Abdulalishoyev. “But we can’t wait for the population to increase, their incomes to start growing and the market will become saturated. Therefore, we need to look for other markets where there is purchasing power. And there are two ways: or to invite this market here, for example, through the development of tourism, or start entering markets with greater solvency.”
“But here it is important to comply with a number of requirements and meet the standards, and you need to learn how to do it right now,” he stressed.
Accelerate Prosperity is a new global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Central and South Asia and provides technical expertise, creative financing solutions and market connections for small and growing businesses.
Founded in 2016 as a joint initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), Accelerate Prosperity Tajikistan has gained business expertise in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) and Khatlon province and built a network of mentors in the most promising industries, including commercial services, agri-business, tourism, ICT and textiles.
The Aga Khan Foundation has been implementing innovative development solutions in Tajikistan since 1993. Central to its efforts have been inclusive, community-based development approaches in which community-based organizations identify, prioritize and implement projects with the Foundation’s assistance.
The AKFs programs in Tajikistan focus on six areas: agriculture and food security; economic inclusion; health and nutrition; education; early childhood development; and civil society. Its initiatives address cross-cutting themes including gender equality, pluralism, human resource development and public awareness of development issues. Through its activities in all four regions of Tajikistan, AKF is reaching to approximately 1.9 million people.
Source: Asia Plus