22 December 2021, Dushanbe – UNDP together with State Committee for Investment and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan launched "Youth Empowerment through Skills Development and Promotion of Innovations in Tajikistan" project followed by the Steering Committee meeting of the "Youth for Business and Innovation" project.

The “Youth Empowerment through Skills Development and Promotion of Innovations in Tajikistan” project will be addressing the economic vulnerability of young people aged 15-35 in Tajikistan, with a special focus on vulnerable young women and youth living in economically disadvantaged areas of Tajikistan. Both projects intend to promote youth engagement in sustainable and innovative development at national and local level and provide access for young men and women to employable knowledge and skills.

The event was attended by the Deputy Chairperson of the State Committee on Investments and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan, Ms. Khurshedai Kodir; H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Tajikistan, Igor Lyakin-Frolov, and Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Tajikistan, Mr. Christophoros Politis.

“Employability of young men and women can immensely contribute to meeting national priorities as well as SDGs. The approach to creating jobs and entrepreneurship will need to take into account modern ways to build skills, mentorship, knowledge and innovative financing for business, ability to innovate and learn from best practices.” said, Ms. Khurshedai Kodir.

The “Youth for Business and Innovation” project aims to develop innovative business skills among youth to increase the number of decent jobs for young people. To date, the project has helped building capacity of more than 4,600 young people, including 35.7% of young women, developed and provided 175 business ideas to potential donors through the Startup Choihona platform, provided advisory and technical support to 574 small and medium-sized enterprises, and created over 250 permanent jobs for youth, including 120 young women. “Embassy of the Russian Federation together with the UNDP aims to create up to 350 new jobs for young people with a special focus on rural youth.” – said H.E. Mr. Igor Lyakin-Frolov.

The new "Youth Empowerment through Skills Development and Promotion of Innovations in Tajikistan" will be implemented in close cooperation with the State Committee for Investment and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan, private sector, civil society organizations, academia and other development partners. The project aims to develop business skills in demand and prepare them for employment, as well as build capacity of young people to implement innovative development initiatives.

The projects are generously funded by the Government of the Russian Federation and are aimed at youth empowerment. Russian Federation has invested around 15 million US dollars since 2014 in development projects implemented by UNDP in Tajikistan.

Contact information: Firuz Saidkhadzhaev, Economic Development Advisor, UNDP Tajikistan: firuz.saidkhadzhaev@undp.org