New investment opportunities for small and medium business

Osh, Feb. 12, 2019. /Kabar/. Accelerate Prosperity announces a new round of investments for promising small and medium enterprises located in Osh city and in the Aravanraiyon(Osh oblast). The investments have a value between $10,000 and $50,000 per a project and will be accompanied with by an eight-week business acceleration program to attract additional investment and speed up growth, Accelerate Prosperity reported to the Kabar News Agency.

The investments will be awarded through a competitive process. Applicants have until March,5/2019 to submit their proposal. However, applications are to receive for evaluation on rolling basis. Thus, the investment committee will evaluate and analyze the business projects, without waiting for the completion of the deadline for receiving applications.

Accelerate Prosperity (AP) - is a new global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Central and South Asia, which stimulates the growth of enterprises where economic opportunities remain insufficient. AP's mission is to ensure inclusive economic development and empowerment with a focus on youth and women in villages and cities by promoting sustainable small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and promoting entrepreneurship. AP offers an acceleration program for preparing business projects to attract investment and scale up.

The main criteria for investments selection are that the applicants have at least one year of business experience, a confirmed annual income of an at least of 100,000 soms, a demonstrable growth potential, and be active in one of the following sector: textiles, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, information technology, and education.

Priority will be given to enterprises where customers, suppliers,and/or employees are (or will be) youth under the age of 29 years old. Priority will also be given to women-led enterprises.

Accelerate Prosperity in Kyrgyzstan is co-financed by the United States’ government Agency for International Development (USAID) under the “DemilgeluuJashtar” project. This five year, $5 million project is designed to develop entrepreneurship among youth. It also contributes to the implementation of the priorities of the National Sustainable Development Strategy - 2040 in the Kyrgyz Republic and the goals of the Year of Regional Development and Digital Transformation in the Kyrgyz Republic.

A business accelerator is a model for supporting small and medium-sized businesses at an early stage, which implies intensive project development in the shortest possible time. Investments, infrastructure, expert and informational support are provided to the project for quick market entry.