USAID’s Future Growth Initiative Annual Report

The project's activities focused on attracting investment, increasing sales, and improving the business enabling environment. In Year 2, FGI continued developing the anchor partnership model to increase competitiveness and employment in the ICT, Tourism, Light Manufacturing, and Food and Beverage target sectors. These partnerships were strengthened and complemented by policy reform efforts in collaboration with government stakeholders, which focused on simplifying procedures and processes in each of the target sectors. FGI established strong private sector partnerships across various target sectors in all five Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. The project also cultivated regionalized elements across each sub-component and sector to highlight and expand regional market and supply chain opportunities, achieve economies-of-scale in markets and interventions, and share knowledge. FGI co-invested in inclusive business models that support increased job creation, investment, and adaptation to the widespread, immediate, and ongoing economic changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project worked with private sector partners and other stakeholders to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through these economic shifts, helping to sustain and tailor their business strategies to adapt to new economic realities. The project achieved significant results, including the creation of 6,104 new jobs, an increase in investments of $23,461,664, and a sales increase of 228%. FGI also facilitated the creation of 81 new partnerships/alliances, co-financing of $1,604,370, and training of 3,936 local entrepreneurs. The project also supported the development of 467 new or improved jobs, 40 percent of which were filled by women, and the opening of 10 local guesthouses. FGI's support enabled several businesses to expand their operations, including Tajik tourism agencies Panjakent Intour and Javokhir Tour, Uzbek tourism agencies Association of Private Tourist Agencies and Muynak Orzular Oroli, Barkard LLC, a food processing company in the Kyrgyz Republic, and Agro Kush, a poultry farm in the Kyrgyz Republic. The project also facilitated the creation of new jobs in Kazakhstan's largest retail chain Magnum by launching an e-commerce project and attracting digital talent. The project's workforce development efforts resulted in the training of 3,936 local entrepreneurs, with 56 percent of the trainees being men and 44 percent being women. FGI's support also enabled the creation of 1,264 new jobs in Magnum, with 391 of them being in the e-commerce department, 41 percent being under the age of 25, 36 percent being women, and 1 percent being people with disabilities. Overall, the Future Growth Initiative project made significant progress in supporting the development of the Central Asia region's economy, creating new jobs, and improving the business enabling environment.