On March 9, within the framework of the joint project of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the UN Development Programme "Promotion of youth employment in Uzbekistan" with the financial support of the Russian Federation in cooperation with Youth Affairs Agency, “Yoshlar Kelajagimiz” Foundation, Youth Entrepreneurship Support Center, Directorate of the Technological Park of Software Products and Information Technologies (IT-Park)  launched ceremony of the fifth cycle of the youth start-up initiatives support programme, in which 46 start-up projects from Tashkent participated. The same seminars and trainings will be organized in the regions of the republic for 273project teams selected according to the results of the competition.

During the programme, certificates awarding ceremony was held to 46 project teams of the fifth cycle programme.

The 5th cycle programme is conducted online and covers all regions of Uzbekistan. Despite the restrictions associated with the pandemic, a record number of 905 applications was received, which is 72% higher than the previous cycle.

The programme includes intensive five-day workshop where participants learn the basics of launching a startup using the Lean Startup methodology. After the educational part, young startup developers will move on to the practical implementation of their project - they will draw up a "roadmap" for the development of the project, test the value propositions of their projects, study the needs of the target audience, create working models and start testing sales.

Trackers, i.e. experienced mentors will guide and advise projects during the programme, accompany the development of the team and advise on the achievement of the set goals. Over the next month, master classes and expert consultations of specialized experts and successful entrepreneurs on various issues of implementing start-up projects will be organized for the participants.

In realization of project is carried out with the participation of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, the State Committee for Tourism Development, the Ministry of Innovative Development, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, Tashkent city administration, IT centers, Westminster International University in Tashkent, DataSite Technology, Digital Trust, Ground Zero and C-Space coworking centers.

The best 40 projects across the country, based on the results of the final presentations, will receive targeted grants of up to 50 million soums for the implementation of their startups (up to 3 projects from each region and up to 10 projects in Tashkent). Grants are provided by the “Yoshlar-kelajagimiz” Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan from the funds allocated by the Government of Japan to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic.