Kyrgyz entrepreneurs learned more about innovations and trends in exporting and e-commerce. An information campaign titled "Caravan of Export" took place in all regions of the country from December 6 to December 17, 2021. The target audience of the programme was entrepreneurs looking to export their products.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund, Guarantee Fund, e-commerce and business planning experts held training events in all regions of the Republic. The sixth Caravan of Export began in the northern regions, with a total of more than 200 entrepreneurs trained in new ways to develop their business.

Nurilya Akmatbekova, a participant in the Caravan of Export, has been in the garment business for several years, but is not stopping there and plans to export; her workshop is equipped with modern equipment and 35 employees.

"I participated in the Caravan in Naryn; I really enjoyed the sessions on business planning and e-commerce. I own a sewing shop with 35 people working for me, thanks to the knowledge I received, I plan to increase production in the new year and employ up to 70 people, I also plan to cooperate with other entrepreneurs and focus on export.” said Nurilya Akmatbekova, Caravan of Export participant.

At this event, participating entrepreneurs were able to learn about the current requirements of target markets for exported products, information and preferential treatment, declaration and certification of goods, as well as business development through international platforms, such as Amazon and Wildberries.

"E-commerce is important because it is becoming a new way of doing trade and offers SMEs the opportunity to do business around the world. The digital economy is growing rapidly, if entrepreneurs want to be competitive, they need to know how to work with digital tools. In my sessions, I talked about digital marketing, as well as selling on Amazon and Wildberries platforms and current trends.” Stated Bolotbek uulu Bakai, e-commerce trainer at the Caravan.

Thus, the sixth Caravan of Export facilitated tasks ranging from educating producers on the benefits and procedures of exporting and identifying the needs of entrepreneurs to enter foreign markets to assisting in business planning and e-commerce. Along with the main objectives, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Nations Development Programme collected data from aspiring exporters on existing problems and their needs in order to take effective measures at the national level. The event took place in the framework of the UNDP project "Trade Facilitation in Central Asia" implemented by UNDP with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

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Co-organisers

Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund, Guarantee Fund, JIA Business Association.

Additional Information

"Caravan of Export" is an event dedicated to the promotion, development of exports as well as trade information.

The main objectives are to inform domestic producers and exporters about the benefits, procedures/conditions of exporting to foreign markets, building communication with producers, potential and existing exporters, as well as identifying current and relevant business needs and requirements in order to improve services to support domestic exporters.